How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
by Whosaidblondescan'tread
Summary: It was just a club. Something their principal made them do. They never thought it would actually happen. When Max and her friends start a club it was only a joke. Something they did to spite their principal. But when the zombie apocalypse actually happens, will they stick together or leave each other for dead? Or better yet undead? Will anybody survive this tragedy? AH and AU
1. Chapter 1

**Dear Santa,**

**For Christmas I want the characters of Maximum Ride. Because I don't own them. James Patterson does.**

**From,**

**Random**

* * *

Behind me Lissa was screaming bloody murder. I was surprised she'd made it this far, honestly. She used me as her own personal shield—actually, never mind—as I kicked, punched,

and ducked for my life.

_Don't get bitten_, I kept thinking to myself, sending a round house kick that could've even knocked a regular guy's head off. Which, I guess, it kind of did. Where was a good ol' baseball bat when you needed one? I groaned, thinking of Miss Bat-burner over there screaming her**  
**hothead off.

Looking back, I wished I wouldn't have told her to ditch the heels—I'm way faster than her when she's in heels. Who was even stupid enough to burn a bat anyways? A lethal weapon against these-

Oh, I bet you're pretty confused, huh? Well, I _am_ getting ahead of myself. Let's start farther back;five days ago, actually. That's when the fun really began.

* * *

**Five days until the apocalypse**Staring at the gray wall in the crowded office, I started thinking. I knew why _I _was sitting in one of these uncomfortable chairs in the principal's office—I had punched Lissa in the nose not even twenty minutes ago. But Iggy? Dylan? All the other people standing in the room? No clue about them. Maybe they punched Lissa, too_._

_Wait, Lissa's in the room..._ I thought to myself. _Did she punch herself in the nose?_ Wouldn't put it past her. Maybe-

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a balding man in his late thirties—also known as my principal—clearing his throat. "I bet you're all wondering why I gathered you here today. Well, all of you need another extracurricular activity to be able to pass. I suggest you form a club of some sort." His voice was void of emotion. Groans of protest come from all the students. "No complaining, kids. I'm just trying to do what's best for all of you."

Oh, look at that: he's acting like he actually cares. How cute—not. Everyone in the room started yelling about why they shouldn't have to do this.

**"**I'm on principal's list! Why do I need to improve my grades?" -Ella

**"**I don't want to be in the same room as _her!_" -Lissa, who else?

**"**I have sports I need to practice for! They're going to be my ride to college!" - Sam

**"**Who cares about your sports? I have to go to soup kitchens after school. Do you know how many people depend on me for this? A lot!" -Angel, of course.

**"**My daddy will sue this school if I have to get anywhere near these losers!" - Brigid, I'm insulted. Your opinion mattered so much to me.

**"**Fine," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. This one word was met with astonished looks from everyone, including the principal. Of course, they had a right to be surprised; I was known as the tough girl, who defied authority as often as she could. I was the least likely to agree to this stupid thing. This was definitely out of character for me. But I had my reasons. "I'm serious. Either join a stupid club or stay in a stupid school. I don't know about you, but _I_ for one want to get out of this hell-" I was cut off by a sharp look from the principal, "-beautiful facility of learning?" This modified version earned a nod from him.

**"**So, Jeb. Can I call you Jeb?" He gave me a look. "No? Okay. Well, Jeb, what kind of club should we form?"

**"**That's for you to decide, Ms. Ride. Why don't you all get together and talk about it?" Jeb said, looking pleased with his answer. Pfft, as if. This whole thing was stupid.

After getting us all settled in chairs, Jeb left the room to let us "talk about the club". Iggy, one of my best friends, came up with the first idea. "What about a pyro club?" he suggested, earning a high-five from his partner in crime, Gazzy. Both of the boys were extreme pyromaniacs and sexist pigs, but the similarities ended with their personalities. Iggy was tall, while Gazzy was short; Gazzy had golden blond hair like his sister Angel, and Iggy was a strawberry blond. They both had blue eyes, but Gazzy's were brighter and seemed younger—though both boys were the same age.

**"**No way! That would totally mess up my hair!" Lissa squealed in her annoyingly high pitched voice.

**"**Get over yourself, Lissa. Everyone knows that you dye it, so why does it matter?" JJ, another one of my best friends, said.

"Still, isn't that, like, illegal or something?" Brigid said, bumming out Iggy and Gazzy.

**"**What about a world peace club?" asked Angel, her voice filled with innocence. Her name fit appearance-wise because she had curly blond hair floating around her head like a halo and bright blue eyes. She looked like she could do no wrong, when really that only fit her half the time. If you hurt her or her friends she could ruin you in more ways than one.

**"**Nah, we should do an art club," said Ella. I didn't even know why she was here; when she didn't have her head in a book she was either at some charity or club of some sort. I would know; I'm her sister.

**"**We could do a bird watching club. I know how much you love birds, Max," Dylan said. Upon hearing this, I scooted my chair away from him and gave him a weird look.

**"**Oh! We should totes do like, a cheer leading club! We could get new uniforms and it would be awesome." We all just ignored Lissa, something I was used to doing.

**"**I know! We should have a fashion designing club! It would be so awesome! We could design clothes, go to the mall, and a bunch of other stuff! Maybe we could take a field trip to Paris and meet real fashion designer! And-" I put an end to that idea by covering Nudge's mouth with my hand. Ah, Nudge. We love our mocha skinned fashionista, but _dang,_ that girl could talk.

**"**No way, Nudge. Don't want to hear anything like that again," I said.

After that, everyone went back and forth, shooting and declining ideas. That is, until, Iggy decided to speak up again.

"We could do some sort of survival club," he stated, bringing forth the first good idea I had heard yet. Iggy, JJ, and I all exchanged glances. I knew we were all thinking the same thing.

With a smirk, I said, "How to survive the zombie apocalypse." This got confused glances from everyone else. "We'll have a club based off surviving the zombie apocalypse," I said, causing everyone in the room to pay attention. "Iggy, JJ, and I shall be in charge of it, of course. We _do_ have a superior knowledge of these types of things, after all." I saw Gazzy about to say something, so I interrupted yet again. "Not from zombie movies, Gaz. _Actual knowledge_." I looked at the rest of them, daring them to challenge me.  
**  
**Sam, being the stupid kid that he was, decided to go for it. "Max, no one here wants to do some stupid zombie club. It's just a waste of all of our time."

**"**Yeah, it's not like it's actually going to happen," Angel said. The poor kids had been brainwashed into thinking that zombies don't exist. That was like saying that there wasn't a monster in my closet, or that vampires didn't exist. So _not_ true. I had to set them straight; it was my duty.

So I told them. "You won't think that when a zombie is gnawing on your flesh. You'll be wishing that you actually listened to me. Then, you'll return home to your family. You'll think everything is just fine, that it's just a bite mark on your arm. But when your family starts looking like a piece of sirloin, don't come crying to me." I glared at them again. "'Cause I'd just shoot you."With that, Iggy, JJ, and I walked out of the room without looking back. If we had, I'm sure we would have seen everyone gaping at us like fish.

**"**Hey, Jebby," All three of us said in unison as we entered his office. Jeb sighed.

**"**Max, I've talked to you about this multiple times. To the students, including you, I'm Mr. Batchelder."

**"**Whatever. Anyways, we decided on a club: How to survive the zombie apocalypse. Is that good enough for you, Jebby?"

He let out an exasperated sigh at my name for him. **"**I was kind of thinking of something more... _educational_, Max. Like a book club or something of that sort."

**"**Well, I _did_ ask you what club we should make. Did I not?" I looked towards Iggy.

**"**You did, Max. And Jeb said that was up to us," Iggy replied to my question.

Jeb sighed one of those '_I knew this was a bad idea'_ sighs and said, "Fine, whatever."

We took that as our dismissal and went back to the rest of the kids. "HTPFTZA is a go!" I announced, walking into the room. Surprisingly, my words weren't met with the cheers we were expecting. Instead, I heard "whatever"s from Lissa, Nudge, and Ella; Brigid failed at a sarcastic comment; annoyed complaints and protests from the others. Did they dare question my authority?

Well, we know who the sacrifices are...

**"**HTPFTZA? What does that even mean?" asked Fang, speaking up for the first time since we got here.

**"**How to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. Duh! Get with the program guys," Iggy said, rolling his eyes.

Fang said nothing to this, only shaking his head. Poor boy must have exceeded his daily word count.

**"**What if we don't show up?" Dylan asked.

**"**Then you get your brains eaten by zombies, dill weed," I said.

**"**Can we watch zombie movies?" Gazzy asked.

**"**Depends... Are we talking Romero or remakes, or modern ones?"

**"**All of them?"

**"**Fine." At this, Gazzy fist pumped the air.

**"**Well, now that that's done, I'm out. First meeting will be tomorrow after school. If you don't show, don't expect to get credit for this. See you suckers tomorrow at 3:15!" And with, that JJ walked out of the room.

**"**Wait," said Ari, "Don't we get any say in this? What about democracy? Freedom of the people and all that jazz?"

**"**First of all, dude, this is high school. Get over it. Secondly, when around Max, there is no democracy," Iggy said, and then he too left.

**"**Hey!" I called after him "It's not my fault I'm a natural born leader! Wait, actually, he's right. Out with democracy, in with Maxocracy!" I said, walking out of the room backwards with my arms up.**  
**As I ran to catch up with Iggy and JJ, there was a feeling of dread building up in my stomach. I didn't know what it meant, but something told me it was important...

_Eh, it's probably just something I ate, _I thought, waving it off for the time being.

Boy, I wish I had listened to that feeling.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated. :)**

**-Random **


	2. Chapter 2

ch. 2

**I checked under the tree this morning. I still don't own Maximum Ride.**

* * *

**Four days until the apocalypse**

I woke up, a groan escaping my lips. I had to go to that stupid club, full of stupid kids, because of the stupid principal today. Stumbling out of bed, I got ready for school and burst out the door, thirty seconds away from missing the bus. I could already tell today would end badly.

* * *

After a long, boring day of school, JJ, Iggy, and I stood outside of the classroom we would be using for the HTPFTZA club.

"Where's the zombie bait?" I asked no one in particular as I didn't even bother looking around.

"No shows. That bait wants to stay bait obviously." Iggy said, shaking his head.

"Guys, it's only 3:10, they'll be here." JJ, our wonderful voice of reason, spoke up. Unfortunately, J's was right. They all filed in one by one. Expressions ranging from that of excitement (Gazzy) from that of boredom, (Lissa) and emotionless (Fang, of course. Who else?). After they were all sitting (Well, Fang stood in the corner like the shadow he is) JJ, Igs, and I began.

"So, let's start with the basics for your feeble zombie-bait minds. What do you guys know about Zombies?" I asked.

"They're gross and Icky. And slow! And they ,like, totally need to clean their faces." Lissa said, smacking her gum obnoxiously.

I rolled my eyes and Iggy responded, sounding a bit offended. "They're not 'gross and icky' and not all of them are slow. Undead people don't need their faced cleaned either. Zombies are highly unique creatures with a never ending craving for human flesh. What's better than that? Plus when the apocalypse does happen we can team up and come up with fun ways to kill them, like playing baseball!" Igster suggested.

"ZOMG!" Would you like to take a lucky guess on who said that? If you guessed Fang, you're right! Not. It was Nudge. "We can ,like, do a zombie killing flash mob! We'll all dress in coordinating colors and dance around kicking their heads off like Po from Kung Fu Panda... I mean, he didn't dance but he that SKLUBOOSH thing. We could be all like 'Twirl- Kill zombie Flip- Knock head off- Spin... Well i think it... sounds kinda...cool." nudge's voice faded into a whisper at everyone's pointed look, the kind that said 'shut up already.'

"Nudge, hate to break it to you, but I don't that'll happen. Besides, there won't be any music after the apocalypse wipes everything out but Wal Mart's- which by the way you always wanna find the nearest one cause they'll be stocked up on supplies!" Iggy added, throwing a zombie tip in there.

"Anyways, anybody else know anything about zombies?"

"Well you gotta destroy their brain or burn them up to kill most of them!" Gazzy exclaimed giddily. Something's wrong with that kid...

"Alright smarty pants, know any of the species?" I quizzed, eager to find out if Gazzy was all talk and no game or not.

"Well, there are the generic zombies. They're the reanimated humans, not very fast but usually aggressive. Their infection can be transferred by a bite or exchange of body fluids. Then, there are the Romero zombies. These are the zombies from the Romero movies- Night of the living dead, Day of the dead, Land of the dead, and Diary of the dead. They shamble, feed relentlessly, and in his later works show a trial and error process of learning. What I think is cool about these is that even if they're decapitated, the head can still try to eat you!"

"Hold up, wait a minute. If they can only walk, how are they gonna catch up to us? This is the flaw in your logic" Poor naive Angel, I'd have to set her straight so she didn't get her pretty little blonde curls chomped off and her flesh viciously eaten by zombie dogs... or worse.

"Well you see Angel, humans like us have to rest, and we can't jut run 24/7. However, the undead can continuously walk for an indefinite amount of time." I pointed out smartly. "Plus if there's a whole hoard of them, even if you were to have a weapon when the caught up, without a team you'd be ripped apart and devoured for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert."

"Don't forget brunch!" Iggy chirped up brightly while poor innocent Angel held a look somewhere between horror and disgust.

"So, back to types of zombies. I'll take it from here Gazzy. Next up are ZSO, or Zombies of scientific origin. These can be explained by science, most likely a virus. They're the ones in many games, movies, or novels. An example of these are the fast moving zombies. They're technically living but infected by a virus. Therefore, they can run long distances, fortunately though, they can be killed in many ways, like shot in the chest, thirst, starvation, even the disease itself. Another are the ones used by Max Brooks in his books. They're fast moving and infected by Solanum." After her little zombie rant, JJ turned to me to continue on.

"So anyone else wanna take a crack at a zombie species?" I asked. Silence. i was about to start on one of my favorite species that I had recently discovered and not even iggy knew about yet when Nudge meekly raised her hand. I plastered a shocked smile to my face and knew i was gonna regret this but said, "Okay Nudge, have a go."

She nods her head and begins a rant " Well, Zombies of Ma, also known as the zombies of Roger Ma, are kinda like the Brooks Zombies. The main differences are that Ma zombies decompose really fast then suddenly stop. Also, they splatter when hit or shot or sliced, which is like, totally gross. Plus, wounds stay moist so if they grab you it's almost as effective as a bite. Lastly, if bodily fluids are exchanged transformation is like, really fast. This can mean a few seconds or a few hours max. I also know a little about Resident Evil zombies," with an eager yet bewildered nod from me Nudge continues. " Well, these are like actually kind of cool. So, they were created accidentally by a T-virus. These are really unique cause they also infect plants and animals. Isn't that cool?" Nudge stopped for a minute to look around. Gazzy was nodding brightly like he was in love and a few bored 'sure's could be heard.

"Anyways, they also go through a evolution line. First, hyper zombies. These are basically newborns that sprint and are stronger and a bit faster than common zombies. Next are crimson heads, the hyper zombies turn crimson and get claws and exhale some sort of gas. Plus they become more aggressive and faster and can take more abuse before dying. Last, they turn into Lickers, which sounds totally gross, these lose their sense of sight but get better hearing and can climb on look like they've been turned inside out, too."

I was utterly shocked. I thought Nudge was the type to not want anything to do with ,as Lissa calls them, 'Icky and gross' zombies. Apparently, everyone else had thought the same thing because they stared wide-eyed at Nudge. Except for Fang. he just looked at her with a glint of surprise in his eyes that if you weren't standing right where I was, you wouldn't be able to catch.  
Gazzy spoke up, saving Nudge from the obviously unliked stares.

" Another type of zombie is the Crazie. They've been infected with a bio warfare agent called Trixie. It drives them insane causing them to murder anyone who isn't a Crazie. The unique thing about them is that they don't lose any of their memory. Most people don't classify crazies as zombies though."

"Okay, I got one, Has anybody ever heard of intelligent zombies?" Iggy asked. A timid looking Ari raised his hand, his voice a little shaky like he was afraid of getting the answer wrong, though he also looked bored, like he couldn't care less. Bipolar much?

"Aren't they the really rare ones that remember how to use things from their past life? But if they get angry they turn into a regular zombie?" He guessed.

"Exactly. And lastly the Rot and Ruin zombie in a book by Jonathan Maberry. What makes these unique is that not only do people who get bitten turn into zombies, anyone who dies after the first night- the initial outbreak of zombies- becomes one. The only fluid that turns a person into a zombie is the saliva and scratches don't cause long term damage. They'll chase after both humans or animals, but only eat human flesh. Um, if no prey crosses their path they'll just stay still not moving until something does... Not much else you have to know about them." I finished up our little talk about zombie species.

"Can I go now?" Lissa's whined, sounding like a tone-deaf walrus with its teeth shoved up its nose.

"It hasn't even been an hour! we haven't even gotten into survival techniques!" JJ snapped at her, almost like a threat.

"Well um... can you just give us some tips for now?" Angel asked a little nervously, like she honestly wanted to stay but was afraid if she held us up for too long Lissa would go all Cat Fight on her. I think we finally got through to her."As a matter of fact there are a few ways. You can protect yourself from a rot and ruin zombie by making a Cadaverine. This is a blend of 'juices' from rotting flesh. If you put it on your hair and clothes it'll delay a zombie, but only making it hesitate. When the apocalypse does happen, you're not gonna want to lock yourself in your house and wait for the police to deal with it. They don't know anything about zombies, seeing as they think they're fake. JJ?" Iggy turned to her to see if she had anything else.

"Well, always be armed. Guns, though they will eventually run out of ammo, are good weapons against zombies. Blunt objects are also good, but you'll want something to protect your face from splatter. Also, cover up your neck, arms, legs to protect from bites. You should leave town, gather supplies, barricade your new shelter, making sure you can get out if necessary, and in a few years search for survivors."

"Well, that about sums it up. Be here at the same time tomorrow. We'll be talking about how to kill zombies." I said, dismissing everyone. Iggy and JJ waited for me while I got my bag and then we left the class together. Fang left a little before us, carrying that backpack I've never seen him without. Come to think of it, when I saw him at Walmart last weekend he even had it. Hmmm...**  
**Blowing it off, I left, glancing out the window to see a figure. They looked like they were limping, and I blew that off too.

Looking back, i wish I hadn't.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited this.**I **didn't have my beta beta this so all mistakes are mine.**

**-Random :D**


	3. Chapter 3

So... I'm finally back! I'm not going to make excuses because I don't like it when other people do. So, all I'm going to say is: on with the story!

* * *

**Three days until the apocalypse**

As I walked to the club the next day I wasn't thinking about that test we had taken today that I didn't study for ,or the detention I got for something or another, or even about the movie I couldn't wait to tell Iggy about. I was thinking about what would happen if there really was a zombie apocalypse. What would it feel like to wake up one day and realize that all your friends, family, even people you didn't like were all undead and wanted to eat your brains? I know Iggy, JJ, and I all glorify it but would it really be as cool as it seems?

I shake my head at these strange thoughts. _Of course it would be. What am I thinking?  
_

Iggy and JJ come skipping over to me. Well, Iggy skips, JJ just shakes her head muttering something about Iggy needing to come out of the closet.

**"**Hey girlfriend! You coming to my Valentines day party tonight?" Iggy asked for the millionth time today.**  
**

**"**Igs, it's not really a party if it's just you, JJ, and I with your parents. And you know Valentines day was yesterday, right?" I said. Iggy was about to say something when he got interrupted by JJ.

**" **Oh my gosh, remember last year? How your parents showed home movies the whole time and made us eat all that organic food? That an awesome party Iggy." JJ teased earning a glare from Iggy. His parents were extreme health nuts and always embarrassed Iggy without even knowing it.

**" **Well, _Jennifer Joy_, this time it's gonna be an actual party. I'm inviting the whole THTPFTZAC."  
**  
****" **THTPFTZAC? Iggy you know, no one knows what you're talking about when you abbreviate things like that." JJ asks after cringing at the use of her full name.  
**  
****" **You guys are impossible! We already went over this! It obviously means 'the how to prepare for the zombie apocalypse club'" After dramatically sighing and shaking his head Iggy looks to me for my answer.  
**  
****"**No matter how appealing it sounds to go to a party with Lissa and Brigid, I can't. I'm going to Florida to see my grandparents, remember? We're leaving on Sunday." **  
****"**You can't leave me alone with JJ, Max! I'll be dead by the time you get back!" Iggy shouts earning looks from the few kids that are still in the hallway.  
**  
**Our conversation stops as we walk into the classroom. Today we had something really cool planed. Or at least we thought it was cool.**  
**We had asked everyone to bring something and most of those things seem... strange to bring to school. So when Fang came in dragging a bag of about 15 watermelons, Lissa a bag, which looked more like a suitcase, of regular household objects, and Ari a bunch of medical supplies it was pretty weird sight to see. Of course, there was reason behind all of this but nobody but us knew it.  
**  
****"**Now, I bet you're all wondering why we had you bring all this stuff here. Today, we are going to go outside and see how well you guys would do if there actually was an apocalypse." Iggy says this in a voice that makes it seem like he does this everyday.  
**  
**Everyone looks outside where it's raining buckets then looks at us like we're crazy. _3...2...1...  
_**  
****"**What? We're supposed to go out there? I'll get all muddy! These are designer clothes. _Designer_! My mother will kill me if I ruin them!" Hmm, I thought Nudge would go on a much longer rant.  
**  
****"**Bu-bu-but... My hair! And my shoes! And my make-up! I'm not wearing waterproof! I can't go outside!" I really thought Lissa would freak out more. She even managed to speak in mostly complete sentences. This is a bit disappointing.  
**  
****"**Well, if it'll save me from the zombies I'll do it." Angel said determinedly. I gave myself a mental pat on the back because we finally turned her into a believer.**  
**After more complaining from the girls and ok's from the guys we went outside.  
**  
**We walked over to a row of picnic tables and I told Fang to set the watermelons up in a line. Then we told everyone what we were going to do.  
**  
****"**So, you all think it's easy to kill a zombie, right? Bullet to the head that's all it takes. But what happens when you don't have a gun or even a bat or something like that? This is what we'll be doing today- learning different ways to kill zombies!" Iggy finishes up grinning like an idiot. There's a chorus of "gross!"- mostly the girls.  
**  
****"**Now, you guys are each going to get a watermelon-this is your zombie," JJ continues for Iggy, "You're gonna look around for things you could use to kill a zombie and use those against the watermelon. Most destroyed watermelon wins." Everyone just stood there until she added "You can go now..."**  
**  
What happened next was actually quite amusing. Lissa tried to carry her watermelon but dropped it on her foot instead. Then getting angry at it, she decided to kick it, her heel getting stuck in it and she fell face first into the mud.  
I pulled out my handy dandy clip board I had taken outside and wrote down sacrifice next to Lissa's name. What? It wasn't like she's gonna last long anyway.  
**  
**Nudge, Angel, and Ella were doing surprisingly well, working as a team to smash rocks on the watermelons. Dylan had apparently taken the same approach as Lissa as his whole foot was stuck in his watermelon. Brigid was just standing next to her watermelon but with a glare from me she started poking it with a stick. Not not even a stick, it was a twig and she was poking it pathetically, might I add. I did the noble thing and went over to her to teach her how it's done.  
**  
**"Brigid." I said and when she looked at me I motioned for her to give me the stick. Snapping it in half I told her "That measly thing isn't going to protect you from any kind of zombie there is." I bent down looking for a rock or an actual stick or something like that. When I gave up about ten seconds later I decided to do it the fun way. I punched the watermelon leaving a fist sized hole in it. "There. Now you try doing that, okay?" I walked away from her, not even bothering to watch her pathetic attempts at doing what I did.  
**  
**When I finally finished laughing at most of them I told them to stop. JJ, Iggy, and I went around inspecting all of the watermelons. Lissa's face was still stuck in the mud and none of us bothered to help her. It was just like one of those face masks girls like her pay for. I was _helping _her by not helping her. Err, never mind. Gazzy's was getting washed away by the rain by the time we got to him and I made a note to myself not to go near Gazzy when the apocalypse happened. Dylan was trying unsuccessfully to shake the watermelons off his foot, Brigid had broken a nail and quit- she's on the sacrifice list too now- Nudge tied a scarf around hers and I decided she might be worth... something. The one Nudge, angel and Ella had worked on together was mashed up pretty good, though they weren't strong enough to really break it. Sam had gone for punching it and managed to dent it... sort of. Ari's was also pretty beat up, though not to the extent of Gazzy's. And when I got to Fang, I blinked. "Where's your watermelon?" I asked and he just nodded up. I looked up and found bunches of small red and green pieces in the tree as if his watermelon had blown through a shredder into the sky. I opened my mouth "How..." I started, then decided that I didn't want to know and moved on. When I had finished marking down the sacrifices, I looked between Gazzy and Fang. "And we have our winners!" I said sarcastically, clapping dramatically.  
**  
****"**Next, we're going to make shelters. You can use anything you find in the woods. The shelter will be graded on creativeness, durability, and how long it takes to build it. The faster you build it, the faster you get out of the rain. You have one hour." As Iggy said this I dug around in my backpack looking for my stop watch. When I found it I set it for an hour and motioned for everyone to start. They all walked into the woods to build their amateur shelters, knowing they weren't going to get out of this. Iggy, JJ, and I weren't going to participate in this because it would obviously be unfair seeing as we'd creme them all. For the first ten minutes we sat there and talked about what else we were going to do. We only had a few more methods of torture- I mean, activities for our little zombies hunters.  
**  
**After fifteen minutes we got up from the bench we were sitting on and walked into the woods. Since we hadn't given them any instructions on how to make the shelter wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I assumed that most of them would fall apart when we tested them, but it was nice to hope our trainees weren't complete failures.**  
**The first shelter we came across was Lissa, Brigid, Dylan and Sam's. Of course. Lissa wouldn't want to walk far in her heels.  
**  
****"**Iggy, take five points off." I said without even looking at the shelter.  
**  
****"**What? Why?" Sam said. He was probably disappointed that the shelter he most likely built on his own was losing points.  
**  
****" **Well, if we could get here in less than five minutes how long do you think it'll take the zombies?" JJ stepped in realizing what I meant.  
**  
****"**Okay..." I muttered actually inspecting their shelter this time. It was a simple structure, a big log resting in between two trees with sticks on either side of it. In between the sticks were leaves and twigs. More leaves had been put in between the two walls making it better than sitting in the dirt. All in all, it wasn't half bad.  
**  
****"**Good job, Sam." Iggy said marking down that Sam wasn't a complete failure.  
**  
****"**What about us?" Lissa asked.  
**  
****" **Good job sitting on your buts watching Sam work." JJ replied sarcastically.  
**  
****"**You all can go back to the tables." I yelled as we walked away.  
**  
**Next we came to a smallish hut with only Ella by it. At the raise of my eyebrows she said with a scowl "I'm staying on guard while the others look for materials." Ah. Gazzy must be in her group, he wouldn't want his 'camp' to go unprotected.  
**  
**With a closer examination I see that it has windows, a makeshift door, and... is that a flower garden? Nudge must be in this group too which explains Gazzy. Sturdy sticks are implanted in the ground with smaller sticks on top leading up to a dome shaped roof. Leaves are woven in between the sticks.  
**  
**As I'm walking around the hut the others in the group come back carrying more sticks and things like that. Along with Nudge and Gazzy, Angel and Ari are also in the group.**  
****"**You guys did really good! Nice structure... like the flowers, Nudge... and you have multiple exits! I'm kind of impressed." JJ says finishing up her inspection of the hut.  
**  
****"**You really think so? The flowers were my idea of course. I couldn't have the hut looking ugly! Gazzy wanted to cover it in mud but I was like 'you put mud on my hut and I brutally maim you in your sleep.' And I wanted to have it in that pretty meadow back there," Nudge paused her rant to point vaguely behind her,"but Gazzy said it was too out in the open. And Angel saw this bunny and didn't want to scare it. So, then,-" My ears are saved by Ari's hand on Nudge's mouth.  
**  
****"**So there is a God..." I hear Iggy mutter as he writes down that, when put together, these people are actually useful.  
**  
**As we walk away I ask who's left. "Only Fang, right?" JJ replies.  
**  
**At least ten minutes later we still haven't found him. JJ and Iggy start calling out while I keep looking.  
**  
****" **I'm right here." says a voice from behind us. JJ jumps and I turn around and see Fang standing there with a smirk on his face.  
**  
****"**Wait. How'd you get there so fast?" JJ asks still confused. All Fang does is nod up at what I just noticed. Up in the trees was a quickly but carefully built tree house. Hanging down from it is a rope ladder. We start climbing and I notice how he could see at least as far as Ella's group's hut.  
**  
**The shelter wasn't much of a tree house I could see now that I'm on top of it, more like a platform with a fence. The view gave him the power to see all around him, since it was up in the trees it was camouflaged, and the height made it inaccessible to zombies. And even if they surrounded him there were enough trees that he could climb from one to another and escape unharmed. JJ, Iggy, and I stare at him amazed.  
**  
****"**Are we gonna stand here all day or are can I get on with my life?" Fang asked  
**  
****"**Right." I say snapping my fingers in front of Iggy and JJ's faces. We start climbing down and walking back. When we finally see everyone Iggy announces Fang the winner.  
**  
****"**You all can go home now, but same time tomorrow." JJ says pointlessly since everyone is already walking away. As I start walking home with Iggy and JJ I feel someone grab my arm. I stop walking and look at the hand for a minute, then the person connected to it.  
**  
****"**Why are you touching me?" I ask Dylan who still has a grip on my arm.  
**  
****"**Um, well, I was thinking..."Dylan begins letting go of my arm.  
**  
****"**That's dangerous" I mutter. Dylan either doesn't hear or ignores me.  
**  
****" **If you don't have a date for Iggy's party, maybe we could go together." He states hopefully.  
**  
****" **Dylan. I already have a date for the party."  
**  
****"**You do?" he asks, face falling.  
**  
****"**Yep. February fifteenth. Bye!" I run away and quickly catch up with my friends.  
**  
****"**Max! It's horrible!" Iggy nearly shouts in my face.  
**  
**I pretend to wipe the spit off my face and decide to humor him. "What is it, Iggy?"  
**  
**When he stops hyperventilating he manages to get out "There...is... a...bacon shortage!"  
**  
**This stops me in my tracks. You can mess with me. You can mess with Iggy. But you can not mess with our bacon. "The zombie apocalypse is coming. This is a sign. We have to start preparing! Gather supplies!" I yell. Then shaking my head, I mutter, "I need cookies..." We head to my house in silence, letting this tragic news sink in. **  
**Little did we know this wasn't the first sign of the zombie apocalypse. It was the third.

* * *

So, tell me what you think! Any suggestions, compliments, and flames will be met with open arms. I've also decided to start a question of the day!

**QOTD-**

**Do you watch The Walking Dead? If so who is your favorite character?**

Well, that's two questions but that's not the point.

Stay awesome!

-Random


	4. Chapter 4

**Three days until the apocalypse (continued)**

****When we got to my house to discuss future plans for the club and mourn all the potential the bacon could have had, Ella and my mom were already there. Ella looks suspiciously happy so we go over to see why. Seeing us my mom says "Oh, Max! I wanted to talk to you," She's about to continue when Ella interrupts her a little too enthusiastically.  
**  
" **Guess what, Max! We can go to Iggy's party! Isn't that awesome? Now those dresses Nudge, Angel and I bought won't go to waste. I have to go call them!" She says with a squeal, rushing off to go talk to her friends.  
**  
**I turn back to my mom, confused. " I thought we were going to grandma and grandpa's so we couldn't go. Did something happen?"**  
**Seeing that I won't ignore the obvious like Ella she says, " Well, not exactly. I saw a story on the news today and tried calling them. Nobody answered though, and I didn't want to risk it so I canceled the trip." Seeing my worried look, she adds, "It's probably just that the phone lines are down, but better safe than sorry."  
**  
**After grabbing snacks, we all head upstairs to my room. Since it's Friday, JJ and Iggy are sleeping over as they do every week. We put in a movie but only half watch, we're talking about what else we should do with the club.  
**  
"**I could pick the lock to one of the classrooms and we could talk about some of the rules of the apocalypse ." Iggy suggests. This is met with nods of approval from JJ and I.  
**  
"**You know the stuff Lissa brought in? I was thinking we could use those to teach the trainees how to defend themselves with everyday stuff. Like that Krav Mcgough thing." JJ offers the idea with confidence. Out of the three of us, she was the best at finding and making melee weapons. She had taken multiple kinds of self defense after almost getting mugged on a trip in New York. You know how people always say things like 'she could kill you with a paperclip and two rubber bands'? Well, JJ actually _could _kill you with a paperclip and two rubber bands.  
**  
**Iggy was the pyro of the group though he had many other specialties. Some of them included lock picking, hot wiring cars, pickpocketing, his uncanny sense of hearing, and he could make a mean, well anything food related. These... skills I guess, had gotten him in trouble with the law multiple times.  
**  
**I was, well, I'm just the awesome one. I dabbled in a little of everything. I spoke a few languages, new about survival, knew most of the basics on how to use weapons, though it's never a good idea to let me near a stove. I'm one woman who does _not _belong in the kitchen thank you very much.

Anyways, all in all we were kind of a rag tag team but we'd been together since third grade. Most kids become friends from giving each other oreos or something like that. We became friends by gluing things in Lissa's hair. Ah, the good old days.  
**  
**We had the... pleasure of meeting Nudge and Angel because of Ella. Nudge and her met in their clothing design class and where Nudge is Gazzy follows. He's had a crush on her since before the three of us even met him. And it's not really a surprise. Nudge is a really happy girl and any guy would be happy to have her. Unlike me she can actually cook, and is _girly_.  
**  
**After Gazzy, came Angel his sister. She was a year younger than Ella, Nudge, and him making her two years younger than Iggy, JJ, and I, but had skipped a grade. Nudge and Ella quickly accepted her, seeing as she was being picked on because of her brainiac status.  
**  
**Lissa, Brigid, Dylan, and Sam were the 'populars' if you can believe it. Lissa was actually okay in second grade, until Brigid moved here. Then she became one of Brigid's mindless followers and it went downhill from there.  
**  
**Ari had just moved here a few months ago and was in Gazzy's year. They became friends, though not as close as Iggy and Gazzy. I had always thought that Ari had a crush on Angel but was too scared to make a move because of Gazzy. You know, that awkward 'my best friend is dating my sister' situation?

Fang was a slightly different situation. He had moved here about the same time as Ari, though he didn't have a specific group. All I knew about him really was that he dressed in black and always carried his backpack with him.  
**  
**When I snap out of my thoughts, Iggy and JJ had agreed to do both their idea's and a few other things. We had access to the school, but only because I had blackmail on Jeb. Yet another one of my many talents.  
**  
**After talking about a few other things, we all agreed that we were tired and decided to go to bed.

* * *

**Two days until the apocalypse******

Waking up the next morning, JJ, Iggy, and I were up at about ten and got ready by ten thirty. We walked into the kitchen, half asleep and saw Ella and my mom already up and making pancakes. After eating at least seven each, well, except for Ella and my mom, we headed out to get to the field early. The weather conditions were the same as yesterday which worked in our favor. What? It's fun to make others miserable.

The others arrived shortly after, and we jumped right in. First we practiced some of the basics of surviving in the wilderness. After all, there is more to the zombie apocalypse than just shooting people left and right. We started with rope tying techniques, during which Nudge knotted her rope into a bracelet, then moved onto first aid where Dylan actually managed to injure himself, and finished with discussing how to tell which plants were poisonous and which were not, Lissa almost eating poisonous berries in the process.

Appalled with the members of our club I let JJ take over. She grabbed the bag Lissa had brought and started lining things up on one of the picnic tables. When she finished she turned to her audience and held up a rake.  
**  
**Looking at them she asks " Zombie hunters, what do you see when you look at this?"  
**  
**Dylan sarcastically mutters " A rake." JJ turns on him faster than it would take you to blink.  
**  
"**Oh, really, Dylan?" At his nod she continues. " Because when I look at it a see a potential weapon. And when I look at you, which I don't do often, I see a potential victim. So, if this is just a rake why don't you come and be our volunteer?"  
**  
**Looking cocky, Dylan steps up besides JJ. "Okay, class. Dylan here is our zombie. All I have to protect my self are the items on this table. Each one can be used in a variety of ways. Just remember that you only want to go hand to hand with a zombie if it's a last resort." The next thirty minutes is a blur of Dylan getting beat up with a rake, almost getting speared in the head with multiple pointy objects, JJ only stopping an inch away from his head.

" You can also use blunt objects, like paperweights and such to repeatedly bash their skulls. On the off chance one of you do acquire a gun and ammo, don't try to make headshots from more than five feet away. Though they make it seem easy in movies, it's not. You're just wasting precious ammo And loud noises attract more zombies. Of course, in desperate situations you could always pull a 'shane'." JJ finishes up elbowing me. She was referring to an episode of The Walking Dead involving Shane, at this point kind of crazy, a hoard of zombies, and an overweight guy. You can probably guess what happened.  
**  
**The joke is met with mostly blank stares but a few chuckles are heard. Since it was still raining, we decided to show them some mercy and let them go inside. We let them dry off as best as they could in the bathrooms, then Iggy picked the lock, I mean used a key Jeb gave us, to the classroom we normally use.  
**  
"**There are over two hundred and sixteen rules to follow during the zombie apocalypse." Iggy begins, walking back and forth across the room. "Who knows the first and most important?"  
**  
**Gazzy's hand shoots up, and without waiting he says " Always destroy the brain. Otherwise the zombies will keep coming and you're a goner."  
**  
"**Correct! You should also remember to stay away from cities. Police stations, supermarkets and hospitals are always the first overrun." Iggy explains.  
**  
**JJ cuts in saying " Remember to always have a back up plan. Maybe several. You never know what's gonna happen with zombies. Traveling only during daylight is also a good idea."  
**  
**JJ and Iggy go back and forth seeing who knows more about what to do.  
**  
" **Only share your full plan with those you can absolutely trust. It might come back to bite you in the but if you don't." Iggy announces.  
**  
"**Stock up on medical supplies. If you have glasses, medication, anything like that, make sure you have extra." JJ counters, glancing at Iggy.  
**  
"**Always pack extra batteries; you never want to get stuck in the dark without a flash light."  
**  
"**Never stop thinking about what to do next. You're never safe until every last zombie is dead. Maybe not even then."  
**  
"**You can't always save the person. Sometimes you have to leave them."  
**  
"**During a raid, only take what you need. Don't be the idiot who climbs into a store only to steal a T.V."  
**  
**The friendly banter quickly escalates into a full out competition. Soon, even I lose count of who's winning. When they finally finish it's time to go. We tell the others that if they don't come to Iggy's party then they're out of the club, and JJ and I start walking to my house. Iggy had to go to his house to get ready for the party.  
**  
**When we get there we go up to my room. I turn to look in my closet for something dry and ask JJ what she's going to wear. When I don't get an answer I turn around and don't see anyone.  
**  
"**JJ?" I call out. Figuring she just went to the bathroom, I'm about to turn back to my closet when something comes over my head and it all goes black.

* * *

****Slowly coming back into consciousness, I look around. I'm still in my room, but I'm tied to a chair. In front of me stands Ella, Nudge and Angel are painting my nails a pale pink, and I assume it's JJ doing my hair.  
**  
**When Ella sees I'm awake, she says "Hey Max! I was wondering when you were going to get up."  
**  
**If she expects me to be civil about this she's got another thing coming. "Did you _drug _me? Isn't that illegal?" I yell.  
**  
**Making an annoyed sound and rolling her eyes Ella says, " We didn't even use anything that strong."  
**  
"**You still can't drug me! I have rights you know. I could sue!"  
**  
"**Oh, Max." Ella replies, irritation flicking across her face. " Build me a bridge, cry me a river, and _get over it._**"**

Seeing I'm not getting out of this, I slouch back in the chair. Well, as much as a person can slouch when they're tied up. That is until I see Ella pulling a pink dress from the closet. And this would be okay if the others weren't already in their dresses. Which means..  
.**  
"**No way are you putting me in that!" I start yelling yet again. I get that it's a Valentines party and all, but why do I have to wear that _thing_? I can't even call it a dress!  
**  
**I won't even describe the tortuous process of getting that dress on me (**"**_Max, don't think we won't drug you again!")_. Nor will I describe the dresses because, honestly I tried not to look at them.  
**  
**Nudge starts a rant because, well because she's Nudge. "Don't you just love the dresses Max?" _Not really..._Not that I would say that out loud. "Ella and I made all of them. I got so worried when I thought you couldn't come. It's not everyday we get to give you a makeover. JJ and Ella wanted their's extra amazingly awesome though." She leans in close to me, as if telling me a secret. "To tell you the truth, I think both of them like Iggy and are trying to impress him." Obviously Nudge didn't say that quietly enough seeing as both of them are glaring at each other and blushing.  
**  
**We head over to Iggy's house and find we're the last to arrive. Angel and Nudge go to find Ari and Gazzy, and JJ and Ella see Iggy and start pushing each other to get to him first. I'm about to head over with them when a hand grabs my arm. Thinking it's Dylan I say, " If you don't let go of my arm I will personally-" I turn around and stop talking. Instead of Dylan, standing there is Gazzy, surrounded by Angel, Nudge, and Ari.  
**  
****"**Hold on," he says. " This is going to be the highlight of the party."  
**  
**I get what he's saying. There's cheesy music playing, Iggy's parents are obviously eavesdropping in the kitchen, and Iggy's dancing like an idiot over by the snacks. A cat fight between Ella and JJ would be fun to watch. So, instead of going over there I stand with Gazzy and watch both of them talk to Iggy between glaring at each other.  
**  
**It looks like everyone showed up. Lissa and her group stood as far away from the rest of us 'losers' as they could, my little group was here, and Fang was standing against the wall, getting his emo on with his ever present backpack.  
**  
**The rest of the party I talked with Gazzy and them, watched zombie movies, and tried to figure out our local 'love triangle' in Nudge's words.**  
**At about eleven Iggy's parents kicked us all out. See what we mean about embarrassing him? JJ and I went back to my house along with Angel, Nudge, and Ella, of course.  
**  
**When we got home, I decided to test something once everyone was asleep. As quietly as I can I grab my mom's address book and the phone and dial my grandparent's house. When they don't answer, I call some of our other relatives that live down there. None of them pick up. **  
**_I should investigate this so called news story. In the morning... _Trudging up the stairs this one last thought goes through my head before I drift to sleep.

* * *

**I'm gonna be trying to update more often now. Thanks everyone who favorite, followed, or reviewed. Virtual cookies for all!**

**QOTD****-**

**What is you're favorite fandom or fanfiction story? Also, has anyone read the Mortal Instruments series, because that's kind of my current obsession.**

**Now, I have a goal for you all. Do you think we can reach 24 reviews by next chapter? Even if we don't I'll probably update again though, so don't worry about that. That's not how I roll.**

**-Random :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh. My. Bananas. You guys are awesome! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! **

* * *

**One day until the apocalypse **

When I wake up at about ten, I remember what we're doing today. Yesterday at the party, we had all agreed to go camping since we didn't have school tomorrow. It seemed like the staff of our school was always trying to get out of going to work.

I wake up JJ, and she gets up and drives to her house to get packed. I quickly pack for Ella, throwing in random shirts, pants, and shoes not bothering to look at what they are. After I get a bag of toiletries for both of us I wake her up.

JJ, Iggy, and I all agreed to pick up people. In my car was Ella, Angel, and Ari. I was the lucky one. Iggy had Gazzy, Nudge, and Brigid in his car, and JJ, bless her soul, had Lissa, Sam, Dylan, and Fang.  
**  
**After picking up my other charges, I called JJ and Iggy to tell them we were ready to go. The drive was about two hours long but in the middle we were stopping for supplies.  
**  
**The car ride was torture. Ella and I fought over the radio, her eventually winning out when I swerved into another lane. From that point on, I had to listen to Justin Beaver and songs about people on fire. Angel got car sick and threw up in my beautiful car. My poor baby... After that, Ari started _eating _and got crumbs everywhere. How inconsiderate can one group of teenagers be?  
**  
**When we found a Walmart that was about halfway, Iggy insisting it had to be that store specifically for some reason, we (finally!) stopped. Walking in, I think I hear Iggy whisper "Number one twenty." To Gazzy, but I can't be sure. When we see the greeter person, Gazzy looks astonished.  
**  
****"**Alice?" he says, though the person is obviously a man. "Omg, girl! I haven't seen you in for_eva_!" The man doesn't look amused. Gazzy continues, ignoring his look. " Come on! Gazzy? Your bffl? We went to high school together!" When the man looks like he's about to say some pretty rude things to Gazzy, he interrupts him, " Okay, be that way! Bffls my a-"  
**  
****"**Okay Gazzy!" I say covering up his mouth. I'm pretty sure Gazzy's about to get beat up, so I rush him off without looking back. When we're a safe distance away, I hiss "What was that?"  
**  
**Shrugging, he walks off towards Iggy and I roll my eyes. Typical. Iggy and him probably spent the whole car ride trying figure out ways to annoy me. Nudge is probably in on it too!  
**  
**We start walking over to the camping section when Iggy randomly stops in the perfume department. Lissa and the other girls, besides JJ and me of course, go with him seeing an opportunity to cake their faces with more makeup. By the time I finally decide we've wasted enough time, Iggy smells like a girl's locker room- a mix of several different perfumes and lotions. When I'm about to yell at him, he walks away, leaving me with my mouth open. I go to follow him, but stop a few feet away. He's talking to some random couple I've never seen before.  
**  
****" **I thought you loved me!" He screams in the dude's face. "It's over!" Then, turning to the girl, twirling a bit of his hair, and giggling, he says"Hi! What's your sign?" They both look at him weirdly, and turn and walk away. "Call me!" Iggy shouts after them.  
**  
**I pull Iggy by his ear over to the camping aisle and give him a 'time out'. I turn around and see everyone there except... Gazzy. " You get the stuff while I get the idiot." I tell JJ.  
**  
**I walk around the store looking for him, until I get to the toys. There I see him pegging little kids with those big bouncy balls. "Gazzy! What do you think you're doing?" I ask, taking a blue one out of his hand.  
**  
**Grabbing _him_by the ear, I hear him mutter, "Number one sixty eight..."  
**  
****"**You know, I don't even know why I asked."  
**  
**I march him over to the hardware, where I had told JJ to meet up with me. I see Iggy talking to a sales person. _Uh oh..._I think before going over to him. He's holding a saw and asking questions about it. Just as I come into hearing distance he says " So this would be the best saw to cut through bone, or?..." The salesperson's eyes go wide and I walk up fast.  
**  
****"**I'm sorry ma'am. He didn't take his medication today." I walk him away from the lady before I hear her response. I decide to get him and Gazzy out of the hardware before they actually hurt someone.  
**  
****"**Come on you two. We're going to get medicine." We walk away, but the store's gotten more crowded. "Stay close." I mutter. I see Iggy motioning me towards him, so I lean over. "What?" I ask.  
**  
**Iggy looks scandalized and shouts, "No, I will not touch you there for a dollar!" Which causes many stares. **  
****"**_What_?!" I ask. I said no such thing!  
**  
****"**No, not for two dollars, either!" he says in that same, loud tone. Glaring at everyone staring, I walk the rest of the way in an enraged silence. **  
**When we get to the isle, Iggy walks off to an employee before I can stop him.  
**  
****"**Hey, dude. What do you sell that'll give me a wicked buzz?" The guy looks like he's about to call security before I cut in telling him to ignore Iggy. **  
**After we get everything we needed and try to find JJ and the rest of the group the idiots see an abandoned shopping cart. It's empty so I don't stop them when Iggy jumps in and Gazzy starts pushing. _As long as it keeps them distracted.  
_**  
**As soon as I think that, Iggy starts singing at the top of his lungs. "Oh shopping cart! Oh, shopping cart! Oh how I love thee shopping cart! With your metal edges that hurt my heels and spinning wheels that run over things, I love you shopping cart!"  
**  
**As he's about to start a second verse I scream, "Shut up!" I finally see the rest of the group, so I go over there before I end up going to jail.**  
**As a group, we walk to the checkout and I see Nudge fall behind us.  
**  
****"**You know, Roberto," she says, "I really love you. Now, I know-" she cuts herself off as if listening to someone else."You- you're breaking up with me? How could you do this to me! I knew there was another woman, but I thought I had won. You kissed _me,_darling!" I hear Nudge cry out, and turn to see her convulsing on the ground. Gazzy runs to her and confronts the imaginary person.  
**  
****"**_Roberto_," he begins glancing strangely at Nudge, "this has got to stop! You can't keep treating him like this. Come on, Nudge. Let's go." Gazzy helps her up and they turn and walk back to us.  
**  
**With our heads down in embarrassment, we wait in line for the register. As the cashier rings us up, every time she scans something Iggy says 'beep!'. When the cashier starts to tell him off he says, "I'll kill you." She quickly goes back to her work. I'm about to hand the woman money when Nudge hands her some stamps instead. As if realizing her mistake, Nudge says, "Oh, I must of left my food stamps at home. I was in a rush to leave before my alcoholic husband got home..." she trails off, gazing into the distance as if thinking about something.  
**  
**When we're finally out of the store I start yelling at the three of them, but mainly Iggy and Gazzy. Before I get far though, they're running to Iggy's car and getting in. JJ and I load the stuff into my trunk and we head over to Friendly's, a.k.a the best place in the world, for lunch.  
**  
**When we get in there's not a wait. The host starts pulling out menus, but Iggy stops him.  
**  
****"**My friend and I would appreciate kids menus, please." he asks.  
**  
**The waiter gives him a weird look. "You know those are for children twelve and under, right?"  
**  
****"**Yes. Oh, don't forget the crayons!" Iggy says in response. We sit down at our table and look at our menus.  
**  
**Soon after, a waitress comes over and says "Hi, I'm Diana and I'll be your server today."  
**  
**When she pauses Iggy interrupts, "Prove it!"  
**  
****"**Excuse me?" she says, obviously confused.  
**  
****"**My friend obviously told me to prove you were our waitress." Gazzy responds for him.  
**  
**She blinks. Obviously this wasn't in her training. "Anyways, can I take your drink orders?" She says, that big waitress smile back in place. We all order except Iggy.

Instead, he asks, "What does 'I' mean?"  
**  
****"**Iggy, just tell her what you want to drink!" Lissa interrupts. He eventually orders and she runs off to get our drinks.  
**  
****"**I'm going to the bathroom." Iggy announces. He comes back at the same time as the waitress. He touches her arm and she looks disgusted.  
**  
****" **Don't you just hate it when you pee all over yourself?" he asks her.  
**  
**She ignores him, noticing that it's just water. "Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?"  
**  
****"**We're ready." I answer. We go around in a circle and order one by one until it gets to Iggy.

**"**What can I get you, sir?" The lady asks Iggy.  
**  
**Iggy stares at her. "Was that a _threat?_**" **he asks.  
**  
****"**Wh-what? No! Why would you think that?" she says, stuttering.  
**  
**Iggy shrugs and proceeds to order. When she comes back with our food, Iggy says nothing but 'thank you,'. After she leave, he randomly gets up and goes the opposite direction. I stand up to follow him, knowing he's up to no good.  
**  
**I catch up to him at a supply closet, riding a broom. "Iggy?" I ask, "What are you doing?"  
**  
**In an annoyed voice, he says "None of these broomsticks will fly!" I take the broom, put it in the closet, and walk him back to the table. As we finish the meal, the waitress comes back, probably to ask if we want dessert.  
**  
**Before she can get anything out though, Iggy holds up his hand. "Look, I know what you're going to ask me... For the last time, no, I will NOT go out with you."  
**  
**She looks at him strangely for a moment, but then turns to the rest of us. "Would any of you like dessert?"  
**  
****"**Not tonight. He's had enough sugar for the rest of us." JJ says pointedly glancing at another hour of torture, we get to the campsite. As I step out of the car, I'm immediately tackled to the ground.  
**  
****"**Max! You were supposed to give me a piggyback ride!" Iggy shouts as if it's my fault he knocked me to the ground.  
**  
**I spit dirt out of my mouth and apologize. "Gee, Iggy. I'm so sorry. I'll be more considerate next time."  
**  
****"**That's all I ask." he says.  
**  
**Iggy goes to help Fang unload the van when suddenly he gasps and slaps Fang.  
**  
****"**Fang! I know I'm hot, but stop grabbing my a-"  
**  
****"**Iggy! Nobody grabbed your butt." Nudge shouts

We finish unloading and start putting up our tents. Suddenly Iggy starts singing "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and this is how it goes." ect. I was tired of telling him to shut up so I just put my headphones in and turned on my iPod. I glance over at Iggy and see he stopped singing and is instead, yelling at... a tent? I take out one of my headphones and start listening.

**"**... and your not even straight! Look at those other big, fancy tents! You'll never live up to their standards. You're a pathetic excuse for a tent."  
**  
**Seeing he was just verbally abusing a tent, I put the headphone back in, ignoring his antics. That is until I see Iggy staring at Fang. Shaking it off, I go back to my work. Five minutes later, he starts humming the mission impossible theme song loudly enough I can hear it through my music, and walking over to Fang. Iggy quickly sniffs Fang's hair and runs off cackling, into his tent.  
**  
**I take out my headphones for good and am about to start the next thing, until I see Gazzy starting at me as if I had two heads. "You're one of them!" he yells, then follows Iggy into the tent.  
**  
****"**Hey, Max." JJ comes over and says.  
**  
****"**Hey, J's. What's up?" I say.

**" **Oh, I just found out what Iggy and Gazzy are up to is all."

I raise my eyebrows. "What is it?"  
**  
****"**Six words. 500 things to do at Walmart."  
**  
****"**Of course! That's why Iggy wanted to go to Walmart so badly."  
**  
**We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes until JJ asks " You want a tic tac?" Iggy comes out and sees the orange candies and runs over.  
**  
****"**At last! The final ingredient!" He shouts, grabbing the container, " Now I shall rule the world!"

* * *

Later that night, sitting at a campfire, we roast marshmallows and tell stories. After setting up the tents, we had packed survival kits, played hide and go seek in the dark, and JJ showed everyone some more self defense moves. Right now, Iggy was going through our food, inspecting it all.  
**  
**Grabbing a box of pancake mix, he comes near the fire. He opens it and looks disappointed.

**"**Lies!" he suddenly yells, "There are no pancakes in here!" Then he opens the package and throws pancake mix at us all. Shrieks erupt from around the flame, though I only laugh. The others slowly go into tents to sleep until it's only JJ, Iggy, and I.  
**  
**We nod at each other and begin our work. We cover ourselves in mud and leaves, and slowly stand up. Groaning and moaning, we walk past the tents making sure to make plenty of noise. In one tent I hear Angel gasp. We come to an all black one and I remember it's Fang's. I bump into that one, making sure to wake Fang up. We're about to walk to the next one when Fang jumps out holding a... is that a machete? I back up slowly.  
**  
****"**Now, Fang. Don't make any bad decisions. You'll regret them later." I say.  
**  
****"**I thought you guys were zombies..." he says. I can see inside his tent where his backpack is open wide. Inside of the legendary pack is a bunch of zombie hunting gear.  
**  
****"**Woah. Is that what I think it is?" I don't know what Iggy's referring to. The whole backpack's an arsenal.  
**  
**Before I can question him about it, everyone starts coming out of their tents. Seeing it's not zombies they all march over to us.  
**  
**All of them are shouting at us at the same time, so I can't understand anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fang put the machete back in his tent.  
**  
****"**Everyone shut up, and go back to your tents!" JJ yells. When everybody complies, she turns to Fang. "What the heck was that?"

**"**JJ, I thought you were better than this. It was obviously a machete." Iggy says.  
**  
**JJ glares at him and snaps, " Don't you get smart with me. Your little stunts did not put you on my good side. Oh, and I want my tic tacs back."  
**  
****"**I kind of ate them all..."  
**  
****"**James Griffiths! What did I tell you about-"  
**  
****"**Uh, guys? Are we forgetting something?" I says motioning to Fang. "So, Fang... Can I ask why you have a machete?"  
**  
**Instead of giving me a straight answer, he says, "You guys aren't the only ones with a zombie obsession."  
**  
****"**Well, Max. I trust you to do the interrogation. I am going to bed." Iggy said.  
**  
****"**Yeah, I trust you too." JJ yawns and continues, "Night."  
**  
**Fang and I go to sit by the dying fire, and I think of what I wanted to ask him first.  
**  
****"**So, what got you into zombies?" I ask.  
**  
****"**My dad was kind of nuts about them." he says though I can tell he's holding something back.  
**  
****"**So, if you're as interested in zombies as you say you are, tell me about the left 4 dead zombies." I say. I didn't expect him to know this, seeing that Iggy didn't know about it until I told him about them. Afterwards he had bought the game to see what it was.

So, when Fang says, "Well, they're from the Left 4 dead game obviously. They're not actually dead, but infected with the Green flu virus, which caused the loss of higher brain functions. The thing that makes them stand out is they don't try to eat people, just attack them.**" **I'm more than a little surprised.  
**  
****"**Well, it's obvious you know your stuff." I say grudgingly. "So, what's in that pack of yours?"  
**  
****"**Medical supplies, Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide, some weapons, matches, the works." Fang replies. Nodding approvingly, I look at my watch and see it's after midnight.  
**  
****"**Well, Fang, I'm gonna go to-" I'm cut off by groaning. I look at Fang but he shakes his head. We both stand up and look around. I'm about to finish my sentence, figuring it's just JJ or Iggy until a man tackles Fang to the ground. Except when I look closer, I see that it's no man. The figure is covered in blood, is missing limbs, and has dull, lifeless eyes. I pick up the nearest thing, which happens to be a rock, and smash it against the figure's skull. Fang shoves it off of him, eyes wide. **  
****"**It's a-" he starts, but I cut him off.  
**  
****"**Zombie. I know. Come on, we have to get the others." I walk to JJ's tent first, knowing she'd be the most likely to believe me. **  
****"**Ugh, Max. Whada ya want?" She slurs, still groggy from sleep.  
**  
****"**Get up. There's something you need to see." When she sees my serious look she gets up and follows me to where we left the zombie.**  
****"**Is that a-"  
**  
****"**Yeah," says Fang, "help us get everyone else up so we can get out of here." JJ nods and goes into a tent. **  
**Next I go to Iggy's, while Fang starts loading the van back up.  
**  
****"**Iggy," I hiss. When there's no response I say the thing that almost almost works, "Iggy, we have bacon." He bolts upright sniffing the air.**  
****"**There's no bacon!" He yells.  
**  
****"**Yeah, now come on." I say. His response to the zombie is practically the same as JJ's. JJ had gotten Ella, Nudge, and Angel up despite their protests. They stared at the zombie, with wide eyes, fear showing on their faces. JJ tells them to get in the car and they run off, too shocked to protest. Once they close the doors and I'm sure they're safe I turn away. JJ and I head to Lissa and Brigid's tent to wake them up together.  
**  
****"**Lissa, Brigid, get up!" I say, nudging them with my foot a bit harder than necessary.

**"**Max, can't you let us sleep at all?" Brigid asks.  
**  
****"**Well, unless you want to get eaten by zombies, no, I can't." I say.

**" **Max, we're not falling for that again. Once was enough, thank you."  
**  
**JJ cuts in saying "Guys, this is serious. There's a zombie out there and there's probably more coming."  
**  
**Lissa sighs, and says, "If we go and see your zombie, will you let us sleep?"  
**  
****"**Sure," JJ replies, "If you still want to."  
**  
**They slowly get up and go outside. When we reach it, Lissa shrieks and says, "What is that thing?"  
**  
****"**We already told you! A zombie!" JJ huffs. "Now, if you still want to sleep, you can. If you want to live, though, I suggest you get your stuff and get in the car." They scurry off to their tent, grab their bags, and get in one of the cars. Gazzy, who is now awake, takes down their tent. Once we put out the fire and make sure we have everything, we get in the cars and start driving.  
**  
****"**Where are we going?" asks Nudge, frightened, and now in my car.  
**  
****"**I don't know. Ella, text Gazzy and Fang and tell them to ask where JJ and Iggy want to go." I order. A few minutes later it's decided we'll head back towards home, and scope it out before making any decisions on what to do next.  
**  
**It's official. The thing JJ, Iggy, and I have been waiting for for so long has finally arrived. The apocalypse has begun.

* * *

**Well, I would like to thank VampireRide (who helped me with this), maxride227 (who reviewed every chapter), and all my other wonderfully awesome reviewers, followers, and and everyone who favorited. **

**Sorry this took so long, I wasn't sure how I wanted to end it. :)**

**QOTD- **

**Hmmmm, do you own a pillow pet? If so, what is it's name? Or do you have Stompeez? I have both! **

**And now, I'm going to start something new- Lyrics of the day! If you get it, you can make a OC and send it to me. Just a warning though, I don't know when I'll use it. **

**"I'm going home, gonna load my shot gun, wait by the door with a cigarette!" Haha, why are most of HER (clue right here) songs about hurting ex's?**

**So, let's try to get to... 34! (Even numbers are way more awesometastical than odds :P)**

**Eat bacon!**

**-Random :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I updated... more on that later. Anyways, thanks everyone who reviewed! The winner of the LOTD thing is Flygrrl. Review for your chance to have a character in the zombie apocalypse! ( Yeah, that sounded totally commercially...)**

* * *

**Day One of the Zombie Apocalypse**

"We have to!" screamed Nudge, "Our families could be down there!"

"Yeah, as zombies. Think about this, Nudge. We can't just all run down there and start screaming out names. If we go down there at all, we need a plan." Iggy replied reasonably.

We were all on a cliff that overlooked our town. It was known for being one of those cliffs that you always saw in movies, where the random couple makes out before something horrible happens to them. There was nothing romantic going on, of course, but you could see everything up here, from the school, to our houses, to the few figures walking around, though it was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead.I decided that there was a ninety percent chance they were undead, since they were all walking rather than driving.

"Guys, cut it out." JJ says, " Iggy's right. We need a plan before we do anything stupid. Any ideas?" JJ looks around at everyone. Lissa and Brigid have their heads down, but from their sniffling I can tell their crying. Angel, Nudge, and Ella are trying to stay strong, but the red around their eyes is a give away to the fact that they were crying in the car. Gazzy is holding his sister, listening to JJ and thinking, though I can tell he's close to breaking down too. Dylan and Sam are trying to be manly, but you can see that they're scared with one look at their face. Fang is, well Fang, and is as impossible to read as ever. Iggy looks a little shell shocked, but we've been preparing for this. If Iggy, JJ, or I showed any sign of emotion, the others would lose hope. Whether we wanted to be or not, we were the people the others looked to for answers and if we weren't one-hundred percent determined, then we couldn't expect them to be.

"What if..." Fang begins slowly, all heads turning to him, " a few of us took a car, and drove it around, beeping the horn to attract the zombies. Then the rest of us could check our houses to see if anyone's there and grab some essentials. Max, Iggy, and JJ, you guys could take a few people, and I could drive the car." Fang looks at us for approval and, after sharing a glance, we nod our heads. It wasn't a foolproof plan, but it was all we had and the sooner we got out of here the better.

"Okay. We need to get in and get out fast. We meet at the edge of town in thirty minutes, got it?" when everyone nodded, I continued. " Get only the things you need. No heels, makeup, magazines, or anything like that. You can take pictures, but only a few. Fang'll drive us to the outside of town, but then we're going to walk, okay? Check the house for zombies first, then go in. If there are any closed doors, knock. This may sound unnecessary, but zombies are attracted to noise. They'll moan, and if you hear that get out of the house. Everyone got it? Okay, Ella, Dylan, Nudge, and Lissa. You guys are with me. Come on." I headed to the car muttering about how I was spending way too much time with Nudge.

Everyone got in the car, squishing against each other like sardines in a can. We drove the short distance, then everyone but Fang got out of the car. We all headed our separate ways, in our designated groups of course. We headed to Dylan's house first, since it was the first on our street. I went in, knocked on doors, checked all the rooms, then let everyone else in. We all had crowbars and hunting knives, along with any other weapons we had in our packs.

"Nobody's here." I told Dylan. This wasn't necessarily good news, since it could either mean that his parents had left the city or were in town somewhere. Either way they were probably zombies.

Dylan quickly packed a bag, his face stricken. When he was done, we checked the house for any potential weapons.

"Max?" Nudge calls from the cellar. I head down there and see her standing in front of a safe. "Do you think there could be..._guns_in it?" she asks, whispering the word as if saying it quietly will make it untrue. I call everyone down and ask Dylan.

"I'm not sure. I know where the key is though. I'll go get it." he runs up the stairs and comes back a moment later, holding a key ring. He unlocks the safe and it holds money, pictures, and other things, but my attention is drawn to the gun. Nudge, being closest to the safe, gingerly picks it up, almost afraid to touch it. She hands it to me, and I clip the case to my belt. Done there, we headed over to Lissa's, then Nudge's, following the same routine, finding guns at both houses.

We went to Ella and my house last. The first thing I noticed as I opened the door, was the smell of smoke, faint, but still noticeable. After looking around and seeing neither my mom nor dad there, I went to the kitchen, the area where the smoke was thickest. I opened the oven and pulled out a tray, with the charred remains of whatever my mom was cooking. I had to guess that these were her famous chocolate chip cookies, and couldn't help but think that she was making them for Ella and I. Had she been making them when she saw a news report telling everyone to evacuate the city? I was almost positive that if that was the case, she would have turned the oven off. My mom was like that, worrying more that she would have a house to come home to, then if she herself would come home. So, what had happened to her? Was she bitten? Had something worse happened to her?

I must of been standing there for awhile, because when Ella saw me she was carrying two bags instead of just the one she came in with. She took the tray from my reddening hand and tried to turn on the tap. It sputtered for a minute, but nothing came out.

"It's okay, Ella. It wasn't that hot. The power probably went off awhile ago." I went upstairs, and packed a bag quickly, shoving in the thickest of my clothes.

I then went to my dad's office. He was a cop, so of course he would have a gun here. I grabbed it and some ammo, then walked back to the others.

We left the house, and started to walk back to where we agreed to meet. It was quiet, each of us thinking of our empty houses. Where were our loved ones? Had they gotten away? Were they suffering somewhere, almost eaten alive? Or had they already turned?

I'm snapped out of my thoughts by a moan, and I spin around. A zombie is less than two feet away and I was so lost in thought, I hadn't noticed it. Cursing myself, I fumble with the gun case, trying to get it out. Just as I get it, I'm pushed out of the way. I look up and see it's Dylan. I jump up, but by then it's too late. The zombie is in front of him, and Dylan's weaponless. I search the ground for the gun that I dropped when Dylan pushed me, but Nudge has already got one out of her pack. She steps towards the zombie, who is sitting on the ground tearing into Dylan, who was weakly trying to punch it. She aims, and I can see her arm shake. She fires, and hits the zombie in the neck. It wasn't a head shot, but it was enough to get it's attention. I grab my gun, and fire this time hitting it straight on. I push it out of the way, and kneel next to Dylan.

Lissa pushes me out of the way and screeches "We have to help him! Get him back to the car!"

"Lissa!" Ella shouts, "There's nothing we can do. He's lost too much blood already, and it was a zombie! He'll turn any minute." Lissa's sobbing at this point. Nudge kneels down next to her, and

rubs her back. While Lissa's distracted, I turn to Dylan.

"You big idiot." I say quietly. "Why would you do that?"

"Max, your the leader, whether you know it or not. You have to stay alive to keep the others safe." he answers.

"But I had it covered! You didn't have anything to protect yourself with." I say.

"Max, you have to shoot me. Before I turn and hurt one of you. Please."

I close my eyes. Killing a human is different than killing a zombie. But Dylan is turning into one, so does that make it okay? He's in pain and dying anyways, so would I be putting him out of his misery? A mercy kill?

"Okay..." I say, turning around and mentally preparing myself for this. Lissa's sobs become louder and Nudge hugs her. I turn back towards Dylan and aim. I switch off the safety, but immediately put it back on. " I can't do this!" I run a hand through my hair and hear Dylan say something.

"You have to, Max. Please. It hurts." Dylan says this strained, and I realize how much this must hurt him.

I turn back around and, before I can change my mind, whisper "I'm sorry," and pull the trigger. I walk away before I can think about what I just did. "Come on. I don't want to have to shoot another person. We have to get to the car." We all walk towards where Fang'll be waiting Lissa still sobbing, and the others quiet.

"Where's Dylan?" Sam asks, concern written on his face.

"He didn't make it. A zombie got him, and Max had to shoot him." Nudge whispers, about to cry too.

Then I notice a person I hadn't before. There was a girl standing next to JJ. She was kind of short, and had choppy, brown hair that resembled Rapunzel's at the end of Tangled. She had tank top that said 'Doctor Who' underneath a plaid shirt, with jeans, and converse on. I walked over to her.

"Hi, I'm Max. Um, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" I introduced myself.

"I'm Evan." she said. "JJ and I went to grade school together. I was in her house when she came."

JJ laughs. "More like, she pointed a gun at my face when I walked in!"

"What were you doing in JJ's house?" I asked, curious.

"Well, when the outbreak happened, I ran over to JJ's, since, you know, she's obsessed with this stuff. But when I got there no one was home. So, I just boarded up the windows, and locked the door, and ate their food."

I smile at this. At least she could keep things light, something we all needed right now. "Well, you two stay out of trouble. Fang should be coming any minute."

"Who's Fang?" Evan asks.

"He's the one driving the car." JJ answers. I head over to Iggy and Gazzy.

"Did you guys find anything good?" I ask. Knowing them, they packed bag full of chemicals, and are going to blow up the zombies

.

"Uh, no. Why would you think that? All we brought were clothes. Only necessities, right? Well, um... Oh, look! It's Fang! Let's get in the car, Gaz." They ran over to the car, threw their bags in the back, and jumped in. Everyone else took their time, not looking forward to being packed into the car again.

I was in the front seat, squished between Iggy and Evan. "Evan, this is Fang." I said, gesturing to Fang, who was driving again.

She looks over at him, and sputters out a hi. He looks over at her and smirks.

"Eyes on the road, Fang!" I yell over all the noise in the car. He rolls his eyes, but turns back to the road.

When we get back to the cliff, Fang, Iggy, JJ, and I separate from the others to talk about what to do next.

"I say we do the prison thing, like on the Walking Dead." Iggy suggests.

"No, we'd be trapped in, and we don't have the resources to clear it out." Fang says.

"My family has a house up in the mountains that we go to in the winter. Could we go there?" JJ asks.

"We'd have to get lots of supplies, but it'll work while we try to figure out something more permanent. What do you guys think?" I ask Iggy and Fang. They nod their approval and we go to tell the others. We hop into the cars but a shout from Iggy stops me.

"Max, we're almost out of gas. We'll have to go back into town." he says.

"No, let me go by myself." Fang volunteers. " If all of us go, there's a chance someone might not come back."

"But there's also a chance you might not come back." I say.

"Max, come on. It'll be a quick in and out." Fang replies. I see how determined he is, and decide not to argue.

Sighing, I say, "Fine. But at least take Iggy as backup." He looks ready to say no, but tells Iggy to 'come on' when he sees my glare. "You guys have thirty minutes!" I shout as they drive away.

About twenty minutes later, the car is speeding up the side of the cliff. When it comes to a stop, Iggy gets out, covered in blood. Lissa screams, and I run over to him.

"What happened? Did you get bitten?" I ask, doing my best to remain calm.

Fang rolls his eyes and says, "No, the idiot got a nosebleed."

Ella walks over with a medical kit. Our mom was a veterinarian, and Ella had always gone with her to the office. It was no nursing degree, but Ella was the closest we had to a doctor. She cleaned Iggy up, and then we all loaded into the cars. JJ took the lead and we started our long trip to her house.

Along the way, Ella checked the radio stations for any sign of life, but gave up almost immediately. Instead she plugged her iPod in, turning up the volume.

About an hour later, we got to the town. It was deserted because who comes to a ski village when there's no snow? We all walked over to JJ's house, and she got the key from where it was hidden in the grill. The first place we all headed was the kitchen, seeing that we hadn't eaten since last night.

Iggy had brought some of our food from the car and started cooking. Setting down plates of canned foods, he sat down at the overcrowded table with us.

"Max and I have relatives in Arizona. We could go down there. Maybe it hasn't spread that far yet?" Ella suggests.

"Maybe not. But it could just be worse down there." Iggy replies.

"Why don't we stay here?" Evan asks.

"Because, even if we go around collecting supplies, food will eventually run out. And once winter comes, it's gonna get cold. Plus if zombies, or other people, come they could surround us, and we're basically dead." Iggy answers her.

"What if we go to an island? Zombies can't swim, right?" Nudge asks.

"Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed, there aren't any islands near us." JJ says.

"What if," Fang interrupts, "we go to Arizona, and see if any of Max and Ella's family is still there. And then we could get a boat, and find an island somewhere."

"An island sounds nice." Lissa says.

"Then it's agreed. We'll leave tomorrow, after we get supplies, then it's off to Arizona." I say. "Everyone, get some sleep, I'll take first watch."

I sit under the window by the door, at a point where I can see everyone and any possible entrances that are near us. After about twenty minutes, I hear people's breathing evening out and in ten more I'm sure everyone is asleep, except for one person.

"Max?" I hear a small voice say.

"Yeah, Ells?" She crawls over to me and sits next to me.

"What... What do you think happened to mom? Dad?" she asks. Her voice cracks in the middle and I realize how strong she's been. How she's holding everything in, to keep the others from worrying.

So, when I answer, I don't give her what she wants to hear, that our mom is fine, that she got away. I don't tell her everything's going to be alright and dodge the question. I tell her the truth because I know she's strong enough to handle it. "I don't know." is all I say, but those three little words hide thousands of possibilities. Me not knowing if our parents are alright is practically like me knowing like they were dead.

And when a tear slips out of the corner of her eye, I don't judge. I still think she's strong. Sometimes people cry because they've been _strong for too long. _And in turn when I slip my arms around her, and tears start coming out of my eyes, she doesn't judge either. We just sit like that, feeling a bond that only two sisters can have.

Well, that is until we hear a crash from outside.

* * *

**How was my first try at feel-y emotions and a cliff hanger? I didn't even have any help! I'm kind of proud of my self. I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I did have the chapter mostly written. I just didn't know how to finish. I'm working on updating more. Anyways, now for shout outs!**

**Thanks to-**

**VampireRide (Who had reviewed every chapter, and helped me with this)**

**Flygrrl ( For winning the thing)**

**lexipepsi99 ( For giving my 34 review, and motivating me to finish the chapter)  
**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Wolf and MR Lover ( For reviewing almost, if not every, chapter)**

**SilenceIsInfinite (My beta who is MIA right now)**

**And everyone else who followed, favorited, or reviewed. Now, for the next chapter, we're going to have a reward system. Here it is:**

**5 reviews- Angel, Nudge, and Ella talk about possibilities of Fax  
10 reviews- JJ and them confront Max about any possibility of Fax  
15 reviews ( And yes that's a lot, but I have no idea how to write fluff, so you guys are going to work for it)- A 'beginnings of Fax' scene**

**SO. Are you up for it?**

**Now for what you've all been waiting for! **

**QOTD**

**What should I call the zombies instead of 'zombies'? Name I like the most, or think is the most original will get a shout out and will get used. And also, has anyone got any suggestions for books? I need a new series or a few novels to read during spring break. **

**LOTD**** (I'm not sure if anyone will know the first one so I'll put two. If you get the first, you get something I have yet to think of, and the second is same as last time)****  
**

**1st-**

**I'll teach you the proper ploys,  
when you talk to boys,  
little ways to flirt and flounce, ooh!  
I'll show you what shoes to wear!  
how to fix your hair!  
everything that really counts to be... **

**2nd-**

**She lives her life like it's a party and she's on the list  
****She looks at me like I'm a trend and she's so over it  
I think her ever present frown is a little troubling and  
She thinks I'm psycho 'cause I like to rhyme her name with things, but**

**So, anyone? If anyone ever has questions or anything, feel free to drop a review or pm me. Bye guys! **

**-Random :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**11 Reviews! That's the most we've gotten on a chapter yet! Awesome job guys! The LOTD winners were... boxtoplad999 and Flygrrl. The OC in this chapter was made by boxtoplad999.**

* * *

**Day Two of the Zombie Apocalypse**

Ella's eyes go wide and I place a hand over her mouth. I whisper for her to be quiet, then peek over the window.

A short figure was walking towards the house. It was too dark to tell if they were male or female, but from the way they moved, strategically placed steps instead of the shambling of zombies, you could tell they were human.

I crawled over to where the others were sleeping and shook them one by one. "Guys! Get up. There's someone outside."

"Really!" Lissa said excitedly. "That means help!" She moved to get up, but I pulled her back down.

"Are you stupid?" JJ asked. "In the zombie apocalypse, humans can be more dangerous than zombies!"

"What are you talking about? They can _help_us." Lissa asked.

"Well, they could want to hurt us. Steal our food, weapons, one of us. Anything really. Plus-"

"Iggy!" JJ interrupts. "Now is not the time for a lesson." She crawls over to the window and peeks out. "They're 100 feet away and getting closer. Fight or flight, Max?" All heads turn to me, waiting for my answer.

"We stay." I decide. "After we determine if they're a threat or not, we can decide what to do."

We agree that Fang and Iggy will go out and see if the person is armed and if there are more with them.

About five minutes later they come back in with a girl. She looks older than us, about 17. I was right that she was short, probably only 5'6, but she was muscular, not to the extent of a bodybuilder, though. Her dark brown hair with a red streak matched her red eyes. I wondered if they were contacts, but didn't want to be rude.

Iggy, though, didn't care about trivial matters such as that. "So, are they contacts?"

He was met with a glare. "I lived in a cabin in the woods. Do you think they're contacts?" She said, before turning to us.

"I'm Max." I said, before looking pointedly to the others, for them to introduce themselves.

After they did the girl said, "I'm Devin." before looking away.

"So... Where are you from?" Iggy asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"My family and I lived a few miles north in the woods."

"Why did you leave?" Brigid asked.

"Because my parents are dead, and my sister is missing." She glared at Brigid until she looked away.

"So, this cabin... Does it have food?" Gazzy asked, always thinking about food.

"Some.

Iggy looked at me. He was clearly thinking that we should go there, since it was a secluded area. Well, he probably just wanted to go there for the food, but still.

"Devin, would you take us to the cabin?" JJ asked.

"Its pretty far. Are you sure you can make it?" She asks, glancing at Lissa in her heels.

"Yeah. We have cars, too."

She thinks about this for a minute. "Okay." She starts walking towards the door. She looks back at us and smirks. "Are you coming?"

"Now?" Nudge asked, surprised.

"No, next year. What do you think?" She says, rolling her eyes.

"You heard her! Gather your stuff." I say, I pick up my bag and walk out the door. Once everyone is outside, we load up the car. Devin gets in the front car with us, so she can give me directions.

"Wow." I hear her mutter.

"What? Never been in a car?" I ask joking.

That's why I'm surprised when she says, "No. No I haven't."

* * *

We get to the cabin in thirty minutes, and everyone gets out. It's pretty small, but looks like it would be big enough for a small family.

We head inside, and see that it's rather spacious on the inside. The first room is a living room, with tall bookshelves lining the wall. Next, we see a room that is probably the one Devin and her sister shared. There's a small kitchen, and lastly the master bedroom.

"Where's the bathroom?" Iggy asked, confused.

"We don't have indoor plumbing. The outhouse is a few minutes away." Devin answers.

Iggy gaped at that, before I elbowed him. "Oh. Outhouse. That's... totally normal." Iggy said, unsure.

Devin just shrugs. "So, where are you all from?" She asks.

"Well, we used to live in Virginia, near DC. Now, we were thinking about heading to Arizona." JJ says. "What about you? Have you always lived here?"

"Yeah. Just me and my family." Devin answers.

"What about school? The nearest town is about five miles away. Did you have to walk all the way there?" I ask.

"No, I was home schooled." She replies, gesturing to the tall shelves surrounding us.

" I was home schooled for a while." Evan says. "It didn't last long, because my parents got divorced and my mom had to go to work."

"Wait, I didn't know your parents were divorced." JJ says, concerned.

"Well, we haven't really talked since fifth grade. But, yeah. My dad just moved a few blocks away though, so it was okay." Evan says. "But back to Devin. Tell us what happened when everyone turned."

" Well, I'm not exactly sure what happened. I was in my room with my sister, Grace, when I heard screams. We ran out and a zombie was...was... it was eating my parents. My mom was already starting to turn. She lunged toward my sister, but I grabbed something, I'm not even sure what it was, and hit her on the head. I told Grace to run, so she might have a chance of surviving. I killed the first zombie, and my dad. When I went outside to look for Grace, she had disappeared. I'm not sure where she went, but I'm going to find her." She finished her story, and what surprised me was that instead of sadness, I found determination in her eyes.

"I'm so s-" Lissa began, but Devin interrupted.

"I don't want your pity." She stood up and went to the kitchen. We all looked at each other, confused, before standing up to follow her.

She held a backpack and was loading food into it. We began doing the same, until the cupboards were bare. Then we went back to the living room, and she started loading books into another backpack. I glanced at them, and they appeared to be notebooks.

"What are those?" Fang asked.

"My fathers journals. He wrote down everything he knew about zombies in them. He was pretty obsessed." She smiled wistfully.

"Is that why you lived in a cabin in the woods?" Iggy asked.

"Yes, actually." Devin answered.

"Is everyone besides me obsessed with zombies?" Even asked, exasperated.

"I'm not." Lissa answered.

Evan face palmed. "Of course I get grouped in with her."

We all laughed for the first time in forty eight hours.

"So, Devin. Would you want to come with us to Arizona?" I offered.

She looked conflicted. "I have to find my sister."

I looked at Iggy and JJ. I excused us, and pulled them over to another room.

"No, Max. The longer we take, the less chance of people being alive." JJ said.

"But we can't just leave her! And what about her sister? Out there all alone, no one to help her. At least we have each other." I said.

"For all we know, she could be at an age where she can take care of herself." JJ said.

"Devin? How old is your sister?" I called into the other room.

"She's six."

JJ drew in a breath. Her cousin was six, before she died of cancer.

I knew her resolve was crumbling. 'Iggy, what do you think?"

"Maybe we should help Devin." He said.

JJ knew she was out numbered, so she gave in. "Fine."

We went back into the other room and sat down. Iggy said, "Devin, could we help you look for your sister?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"We're doing it whether you agree or not. It's just easier if you agree." Evan said. The two smiled at each other.

Gazzy, who sat across from me, looked like he suddenly realized something. "I must be in shock." he muttered.

"What?" Nudge asked. "Why would you think that? Well, I know why. Your parents are dead, Angel's probably your only living relative, we're scouring for food, we're in the _zombie apocalypse, _along with the fact that-" Gazzy placed a hand over Nudge's mouth.

"Because we're calling the zombies 'zombies'!" This was met with confused looks. "Have you ever read a zombie book or saw a movie where they called the zombies 'zombies'? No!"

"Fine, Gaz. We can call them zoms or whatever." I said, dismissing it.

"Do you know how unoriginal that is?" Gazzy asks. "Iggy, help me out here!"

"Ooh! We should call them Super Lazy United Teeth."

"Too long." JJ said getting into it.

"We could give it an acronym." Iggy insisted.

"You want us to call the zombies SLUTs?" Angel asked.

"Yeppers! Or oranges." Iggy said.

" What about Undead Americans?" Ella suggested.

"I still like SLUTs." Iggy muttered.

"Creepers?" Nudge asked.

"That's pretty good." I said.

Iggy whispered something in Gazzy's ear and together they started chanting, "SLUTs, SLUTs, SLUTs!" over and over again.

"Shut up you guys!" I say, grinning. "You're gonna attract all the SLUTs around."

Everyone laughs, and this feels like the first normal thing that's happened since that first night.

The guys and girls split into two groups, all of us just talking. Out of nowhere, JJ says "So, Max, what do you think about Fang?"

After wondering where that came from, I say "He's okay, I guess. Though he doesn't talk that much."

"Only okay? Not hot, amazing, smexy or all of the above?" Nudge asks with wide eyes.

"Um, I guess he looks alright." I say.

"There is no chance of Fax." Evan says, shaking her head.

"Never give up on the Fax!" Angel cries.

Devin and I look like the only ones who are confused.

"Um, what are you guys talking about? Who cares about a fax machine?" Devin asks.

"Not a fax machine, silly. _Fax_. With a capital 'F'." Nudge says.

"I still don't get it." I say.

"Well, you know all those couple names you see in magazines? Fax is one that just never made it in them." Ella says as if that explains it all.

"Okay... Well, who's name's does it combine?" Devin asks. But I already know. My mouth hangs open even before Nudge answers.

"Max... and Fangs!" This is met with high pitched squeals.

"What!" I cry, outraged. "We're not even together!"

JJ rolls her eyes. "That's what the clubs about, Max."

"What club?" I ask, still lost.

" The 'Get Max and Fang Together' club. We're trying to come up with a better name." Lissa says.

"Wait, Lissa knew about this before I did?" I ask.

"Yeah. Brigid's in it too, if you were wondering." Lissa says.

" I just joined last night, if that helps." Evan says.

"When have you guys even had time to do this?"

" There's always time for Fax." Angle says.

"What makes you think we even want to be together like that?"

"The first piece of evidence sits right behind you." Angel replies vaguely.

I turn around and see Fang staring at me. My head snaps around and I try to stop my blush, but I must fail, since I hear another round of squeals from the 'Get Max and Fang Together' club. "Look, you guys. That means nothing. He's probably only looking over here because he heard his name so many times." I say reasonably.

"Do you honestly believe that, Max?" JJ asks, before I turn around to talk to Devin.

After all the craziness, we decided to stay here for the night. While everyone else slept, Fang, JJ, Iggy, Devin, and I planned.

Devin drew a rough map of the area and marked all the spots she thought her sister might be. We agreed that we would look in groups tomorrow, and if we didn't find her we would talk with the whole group to decide what to do.

Devin and I take first watch. I turn to her and ask, "Can you believe them? Forming a club about me and Fang. Ridiculous!"

"Well, actually..."

"You didn't." I say, hoping it isn't true.

"I did. I joined the club!"

"The Bambi eyes?" I ask.

"Yes! They're so big, and round, and ugh!"

" I get you. Those eyes have been the downfall of many."

We sit in a comfortable silence for a while, before Devin turns back to me.

"What do you think happens after this?" She asks.

"I think we try to get as many survivors together, and find somewhere safe. Or at least safer."

It takes her a few minutes to respond. "But, what if there are no more survivors? What if we're... it?"

Even though I don't respond to this, it haunts me for the rest of our shift. And I know it will haunt me for days to come.

* * *

**Yeah, it was a kind of short chapter. But It's been hectic around my house. I'm sort of iffy on the ending, but I wanted to finish this. I couldn't pick just one of the names you guys gave, so I put all of them in. Shout out time!**

**Thanks to-**

**VampireRide (Who still has reviewed every chapter, and she came up with SLUTs and Oranges)**

******Flygrrl ( For winning the thing, and the Creeper suggestion)**

**boxtoplad999 (Also for winning the thing, and the Undead Americans suggestion)**

**polar bear (They got one of the songs first, actually. But since they were a guest I couldn't contact them. Sorry. )**

**lexipepsi99 ( For being first reviewer)**

**Wolf and MR lover (For her idea, reviewing most of the chapters, and all the book suggestions)**

**maxride227 (for reviewing a majority of the chapters)**

**And everyone else who reviewed. They all made me smile, and I can't wait to read all the books you guys suggested. The first song was Popular from the musical Wicked and the second was Better Than Revenge by Taylor Swift.**

**Now, the reward system for the next chapter!**

**5 reviews- another piece of evidence that Fang likes Max**

**10 reviews- The girls try to set them up in some way**

**15 reviews- A bit of actual Fax**

**LOTD -**

**So if the ties that bind ever do come loose**

**Tie 'em in a knot like a hangman's noose**

**Cause I'll go to heaven or I'll go to hell**

**Before I see you with someone else**

**QOTD-**

**What would you name your Fax club? And do you watch Glee?(I do!) If so, what is your favorite song that they've done?**

**So, review! I read every one. No matter how short or long, they make me smile. :) See?**

**-Random :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ten reviews! Good job, guys. The winners of last chapter's LOTD were boxtoplad999, lexipepsi99, and VampireRide. VampireRide made the OC, Luka.**

* * *

**Day Three of the Zombie Apocalypse **

The next morning, we all wake early, preparing for a long day of searching the woods. We decided not to split into groups, though it would save time, because certain people in the group can't defend themselves at all.

Working together, Devin and Evan draw rough maps of the area for everyone, in case someone gets lost. Once we're sure that everyone has a map and a backpack full of basic necessities, we all gather outside.

"First thing first," begins Iggy, " If you get separated, don't stay where you are. There's a better chance of a SLUT will find you than one of us finding you. Either find your way back to the house, or follow the path that we were taking on the search."

"And the rules of nature still apply in the zombie apocalypse. Don't eat anything if you don't know if it's poisonous, don't try to catch any animals, and don't try to fight any zombies. If you see one, get out of there." JJ continues, ignoring the pointed look from Iggy. Ever since last night, every time someone says 'zombie' instead of one of the other names, either Iggy or Gazzy glares at them.

"Everyone ready?" I ask. When I get nods and 'yeah's I start walking into the woods, followed by the others.

We trudge along, stopping at places that were important to Devin and her family. The lake where they would swim in the summer, the ranger's station where their father worked, even the small tree house that used to belong to Devin. At each one we come up empty. And at each one Devin's face sinks a little further. Luckily, Evan, who has gotten close with Devin, has consoled her each time.

When Devin can't think of anywhere else Grace could be, she turns to us. "Maybe we should just head to Arizona. Grace wasn't really equipped to deal with zombies, and she wasn't old enough for my dad to share his obsession. By now she's probably one of them." She says sadly.

We just stand there not knowing what to say. She's probably right, but we don't want to tell her this.

Finally, Evan breaks the silence. "You can't think like that. Maybe she found someone and they're traveling together."

Devin looks at her skeptically. Before she can answer, we hear a moan. Coming out of the woods are about five zombies, nothing that we can't handle.

"Best way to kill a SLUT?" Iggy calls out, making a lesson out of it.

"Bullet to the head." Gazzy immediately answers.

JJ sighs. "You watch way too many zombie movies, kid. Hollywood and the apocalypse don't mix. Head shots are hard, even if they're this close."

"What about using a blunt object?" Ari says timidly. He's been quiet for the past few days, to the point where you wouldn't know he was there.

"Good job. First one's yours." Iggy says, gesturing to the zombie quickly approaching.

Ari's eyes go wide, and he shakes his head back and forth. "Aw, come on! You can do it." Iggy says. "Just remember, they're not people anymore. It's basically putting them out of their misery."

With this, Ari takes the bat from JJ, closes his eyes, and swings at the zombie. All the years he had played baseball must have payed off, because when the bat comes in contact with the head blood splatters everywhere.

We finish the rest off much like this. Even Lissa and Brigid work together to kill one.

We continue walking, looking for any sign of life. I look back to count heads and notice that we're one person short. I look again, and see that it's Ella who's missing.

"Guys, stop. Ella's missing." I say, worriedly.

"I'm sure she's fine, Max. Let's go back and-" Iggy is cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. And I know the only person who could make a sound like that is my sister.

We race back the way we came until we see her. Suspended in the air by a net, Ella sits screaming, surrounded by zombies.

Blood drips off the net, and I pray that it's a zombie's and not hers. She lets out another scream, and we burst into action. Knives dig into skulls, coming out covered in blood, the occasional bullet pierces through the air, and even a few arrows fly through the air from Devin's crossbow. But none of this matters to me as I fight my way to Ella. When there are only a few zombies left I climb the tree to cut her down. Seeing what I'm doing, Iggy races to the tree to catch Ella as she falls.

He lays her on the ground, and I jump from the tree. "Did you get bitten?" I ask frantically. But even before she replies I know that she did. Her face is pale white, she's covered in blood, and she can't seem to keep her eyes open.

"Ella, keep your eyes open. Don't fall asleep, okay?" Iggy begs.

"Iggy..." Ella whispers, and I'm surprised that Iggy even hears it.

"Yes?" He bends down, so that he can hear whatever it is she says. Suddenly, his face goes red, but he nods his head to her nonetheless.

"What does she want?" JJ asks, quietly.

"She, um, well, she wanted me to, you know, kiss her." Iggy stutters.

"Oh." JJ says.

He bends down and briefly touches her lips, but I see what he can't. Ella's already turning.

"Iggy!" I shriek.

He turns to look at me. " Max, I know I just kissed your sister, but there's no need to- Oh my god!" Iggy notices what I had, and jumps away from Ella. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!" He yells, jumping around and trying to wipe his tongue. "I just kissed a SLUT!"

Iggy gets glares from Nudge, Angel, JJ, and I. "I meant the zombie kind, okay?" He defends himself.

While he had been freaking out, Ella- no, the thing that used to be Ella, has been trying to get up, but it's foot is caught in the net.

"Who should... do it?" Ari asks.

"I will." Nudge says, surprising us all. "It's better that someone she was close with does it, and I don't want Max to go through that." She explains.

Angel and I both hold Ella back, tears in our eyes. Nudge slowly walks over to us, a gun in her hand. "Goodbye, Ella." She whispers, before pulling the trigger. Ella sags to the ground, and I hug Angel and Nudge close to me.

"Guys," Fang says, "I hate to break you up, but we have to find out where this net came from. It's not Devin's."

"Then where did it come from?" Ask Sam, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I don't know." Fang admits. "But I think we should find out."

"I could probably help with that." A voice says from behind us. I spin around and see a guy about our age leaning up against a tree. He's about 6'4, and reminds me of Dylan, but he doesn't have that 'I'm perfect' air about him. Also, instead of blond hair and blue eyes, he has light brown hair and green eyes.

"Who are you?" JJ asks.

"My name's Luka. You guys?"

"I'm JJ." She says. Each of us introduces ourselves, the JJ turns back to him. "Where are you from?"

"Doesn't really matter anymore, does it? Not like there's anything left."

This is met with nods of agreement.

"So, this was yours?" Fang asks, getting back to the point.

"Yeah, I have snares and traps going along here for a few hundred yards."

"Why? Didn't you bring food with you when you left?" Nudge asks.

"Of course, but with everything so crazy I wasn't really thinking, I guess."

"Where are you staying now?" Iggy questions.

"I have a camp a while up."

"You've been living in the wild?" Devin demands, suspicious.

"Yeah, what about you guys? Where are you staying?" He directs the question to JJ, who looks to me. I can tell she wants to know if we should tell him or not.

I give a barely visible nod, and JJ answers him. "We're living in a cabin, for the time being." With another look at me, she continues. "Would you like to come with us?"

He shrugs and says, "I don't see why not."

We begin the trek back to the cabin, but not before we manage to bury Ella. Though Luka brings a light chatter with him, it's hard not to think about Ella.

We make it back to the cabin, and a feeling of hopelessness overcomes me. We didn't find Devin's sister and Ella _died_. Our only goal is to get to Arizona, and we don't even know what condition it's in down there. If we can't even make it a mile without someone dying, how are we supposed to make it all the way down there?

Evan, as if sensing my thoughts, comes over to me. "We're going to make it." She says. "It may not be alright, and more people may die, but we will make it. We just have to keep going. No matter what happens, we can't give up."

I nod my head and put on a brave face. I shouldn't need other people to help me get through this. I should be comforting Angel and Nudge.

Evan and I walk over to the other girls, sitting in a circle.

"Okay," Nudge says, still a bit teary eyed. " This meeting of the Get Max and Fang Together club has commenced. Angel?"

"Well, as hard as it is for me to say this, now that Ella is... gone, we need to elect a new president. We'll take volunteers at the next meeting. Also, and I can truthfully say this, I think that Ella would have wanted us to try even harder now that she's gone. We're going to have to increase our efforts."

"But before that, I would like to announce, that we are officially changing the name of our club. It was Ella's idea, and I think that we all agree that she would be happy about this. All who agree to the name of Fangirls United, say 'I'."Nudge pauses in her rant.

This is met with a chorus of I's. "What made her come up with that?" I ask from where I'm awkwardly sitting off to the side.

"She wanted to broaden our horizons." Nudge says with a smile. "Now we can focus on getting multiple people, not just Fang and Max, together."

"So, now we're going to be 'F.U.'?" Evan asks with a grin. "Typical Ella."

"Max, remember when Ella bedazzled your favorite pair of converse?" JJ asks.

"Yeah. I never wore those things again..."

"And there was that time where she put you in that pink bikini," Angel says.

"Max? In a bikini? Why did I not hear of this?" JJ asks, feigning outrage.

"Oh, Ella brought pictures!" Brigid says. "She showed them to us."

"I've got to see this," JJ says.

"I thought I had burned all of those." I mutter.

The next hour is filled with stories of Ella, some of which make us laugh and others that make us cry. Once we're all done, I feel better. I realize that that Evan was right. I've just got to keep moving, and I shouldn't let the fact that Ella is gone stop me from protecting everyone else.

"Okay, now onto the next matter of business." Lissa says with a conspiratorial glance at the rest of us. "We've got to get you and Fang on a date, Max. Tonight."

"What? No!" I start backing up, suddenly afraid of the girls in front of me.

"Come on, Max." Angel says, unleashing the Bambi eyes. "If not for us, do it for Ella. It's what she would've wanted."

Even if I could have resisted the Bambi eyes, which I can't, the mention of my sister makes me agree. Of course, I have to maintain some of my dignity so I say, "What about Fang? How do we know he'll agree?"

"Oh, that's easy." Nudge says. "Iggy and most of the others are in on it too!"

"Great..." I grumble. "But, only this once." I give in and shrill shrieks pierce the air.

"Iggy!" JJ calls. He races over, asking what she wants.

"Did you get Fang to agree?" Lissa asks.

"Do you doubt me, woman? Of course I got him to agree! I'm the Igster"

The girls jump up, and I sit there confused. "Well, come on. We've got to get you ready! Ella had the perfect dress for you." Nudge says, dragging me to one of the bedrooms.

"I never agreed to any dress!" I protest.

"It was in the fine print." Angel says.

"I never signed a contract!"

"Sure you did." Brigid shows me a piece of paper with my supposed signature.

"That's obviously forged." I say.

"Who cares. Devin, do you have any rope?" Nudge asks.

"You're tying me to a chair!" I cry.

"Would you rather be drugged?" I shake my head back and forth. "Then shut up."

They begin the long process of making me over. Lissa and Brigid do my hair, muttering about how stupid it is that we don't have electricity. Angle and Nudge paint my nails a navy blue that, apparently, will look _fabulous_with my dress. Nudge's word's, not mine. The others work together on my makeup, complementing each other on how great they made me look.

I quickly put on the dress, deciding just to get this over with. I turn around to look in the mirror and and am surprised. Unlike the girly, pink dresses I'm usually put in, this one isn't completely horrible. The bodice is navy-blue and made of lace with a sweetheart neckline, or so Nudge says. The skirt has a floral pattern and there's a brown leather belt attached. They stick caramel colored flats on my feet and stick a flower in my hair as a 'finishing touch'.

Then they rudely push me out the door to go 'fall in love with Fang'. Yeah right.

Gazzy escorts me to the dining room, which is unnecessary, but the girls yell at me when I say I can find it myself. Iggy and the guys had been busy in there. A table was set with a white tablecloth, and from the smells coming from the kitchen, I could tell Iggy somehow managed to cook something. Sitting at the table, looking bored, is Fang.

When I come in, he looks up. "You look nice." He says.

"Um, thanks. You too." I reply awkwardly.

We sit at the table in silence, until a pillow is thrown from the living room and hits my head.

"Luka!" Lissa shrieks. "I just did her hair."

"Well, they're being so boring! I thought they would at least do _something_other than sit there."

I turn my head, and see them all sitting on the couches of the adjoining living room, pretending to read.

I sigh, and put my head in my hands. "I'm sorry about this." I say.

"No need to apologize. Do you mind me asking why you agreed to this if you didn't want to do it?" Fang questions.

"F.U." I say, in reply. Fang looks taken aback for the first time, and I realize what I just said. "Oh, not that way. The Fangirls United club. Previously called The Get Max and Fang Together club."

"They made a club to get us together?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Why did you agree to this 'date'?" He asks.

"Have you seen the Bambi eyes? Those things will be the death of me. And plus, Ella used to be the head of the club and it's what she would have wanted, according to Nudge."

Fang cracks the first smile I've ever seen from him. Yes, actual smileage.

"What about you?" I ask.

"They threatened to lock me in a room with Gazzy, after he ate a can of beans."

"Iggy's idea?"

Fang nods. Iggy comes out with the food, which is surprisingly warm. I look at him questioningly, and Iggy shrugs, saying "They have a wood burning stove." Then he retreats back to the kitchen, to leave us alone.

Fang and I dig in, talking about light subjects until dessert comes, avoiding tough things like Ella and how we're going to survive this.

At the end of our 'date', everyone follows us to the bedrooms, so we can sleep. I'm about to go in one with the girls, and Fang the other with the guys, before a shout stops us.

"What? No goodnight kiss?" Nudge demands.

"Is that on the contract too?" I joke, until I see Angel skimming it.

"Yes, actually. Paragraph four, line five." She hands it to me, and I see that she's right.

"I still didn't sign that." I mutter, before kissing Fang on the cheek. "Happy?" I ask.

"Somewhat." Brigid replies.

I roll my eyes, heading into the bedroom. I wash the makeup off my face and change into sweats and a t-shirt, before getting into my sleeping bag. I'm about to go to sleep before I see seven pairs of eyes staring at me.

"Um, guys? Do you need something?" I ask, confused.

"Yes!" Angel says. "Details!"

"But you guys were in the room."

"Well, have your feelings about Fang changed?" Nudge asks.

"What feelings?" I ask, getting more confused by the second.

JJ gives an exasperated sigh. "She's not going to say anything guys. Let's just go to bed."

With that, she turns off the lantern, and we all drift into sleep.

* * *

**Well, what did you guys think? I liked this chapter for the most part. It was hard killing off Ella, but it had to be done. Someone needed to go. And it may seem weird that they have a F.U. meeting right after, but that's sort of how they're grieving. And there was a tiny bit of Fax in there too! Well, sort of... Eh, you can count it if you want. Now, for the shout outs!**

**Thanks to-**

**VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter. helping me with the chapter, and submitting the OC)**

**Marietheham (For giving me an apocalyptic warning)**

**lexipepsi99 (For reviewing every chapter and getting the LOTD)**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter)**

**TeamJalec (For reviewing most chapters, and also, just wondering, does your username have anything to do with The Mortal Instruments?)**

**Flygrrl (For reviewing most chapters)**

**Guest reviewer- Fangirl357 (For making me smile)**

**maxride227 (For making me laugh and reviewing every chapter)**

**SamDaRomanticWriter (For writing an awesome review)****  
**

**boxtoplad (For reviewing most chapters, helping me with the chapter, and getting the LOTD)**

**And everyone else who followed, favorited, or reads the chapter.**

**Well, that's everyone who reviewed! Now onto the reward thing.**

**5 reviews- Another F.U. meeting**

**10 reviews- Another pairing will develop (You guys can make suggestions in your reviews)**

**15 reviews- Something involving Fax**

**LOTD (Same as always, first person can make an OC, help with the chapter, or get a preview of it, and second person will get an OC)  
**

**You come over unannounced  
Dressed up like you're somethin' else  
Where you are ain't where it's at  
You see you're making me laugh out  
When you strike your pose  
Take off all your preppy clothes  
You know you're not fooling anyone  
When you've become...**

**QOTD  
**

**If you had a unicorn, what would you name it? And on a similar note, which is better; unicorns or zombies? And last one, what's your favorite My Little Pony?**

**Don't forget to review! They all make me happy. **

**-Random :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, you guys! Let me tell you, you guys are awesome! 14 reviews? That's the most yet! The winners of the LOTD were VampireRide, boxtoplad999, and Disney'sGurl. Good job guys! If it seems slightly Luka themed, that's because VampireRide helped me with this chapter. So, you guys basically owe her a thank you, because she's the one who encouraged me to update when I was procrastinating. **

* * *

**Day Three of the Zombie Apocalypse (continued)**

**(3rd person point of view)**

The boy stirred restlessly on the floor. Even the hot food and warm fire didn't cause Luka to let his guard down. Living in the wild for as long as he had, he knew that you can't trust anything based on a first look. These people could all be drug dealers smuggling him across the border to sell to some Mexican drug cartel. Though that may be extreme, Luka knew not to rule anything out. He had learned that from experience.

Not being able to sleep, he decided to go outside. He knew there was a lake near the cabin, in the opposite direction that the others had found him.

Walking the short distance he began searching the shore for flat rocks. Hearing footsteps behind him, he spun around, rock in hand. There stood JJ, her hands up in defense. "Whoa, buddy. Let's put the sharp object down." She said with a smirk.

He drops the rock, but picks a few others up. "What are you doing out here?" The girl asks.

"Riding a unicorn. What does it look like, JJ?" Luka asks sarcastically.

JJ only smirks. "What I meant was why are you out here all lonely? Afraid Lissa will hurt you in your sleep for ruining Max's hair?"

Luka only scoffs. "I'm not afraid of her... I'm just... thinking." He says, sobering up.

Seeing the change, JJ says, "Hey, don't get all depressed. I haven't seen you like this since we found you."

The boy shrugs. " It's just when I'm alone, I don't have to pretend to be okay. I can stop pushing the pain away."

JJ takes a few steps closer to the boy. "Maybe you'll feel better if you talked about it instead of holding it all in"?

"Nah, I don't want to rain on your pretty little parade."

"We brought umbrellas." She says. Noticing his reluctance, she continues. "Oh, come on. You tell me your life story, I'll tell you mine."

"I don't know... It's hard for me to talk about."

"Luka, seriously? In the last twenty-four hours you've accused Lissa of making herself throw up, told Max that she looked like a white shananay, almost got punched by Fang for telling him that he'd look good in sparkles, and a whole bunch of other stuff that got you slapped, punched, or kicked. Whatever you have to say can't hurt that much." She says, confident.

" I had to shoot my family, because they got bit! And if it weren't for me, they wouldn't have been bitten at all!" He hurls a rock at the water and then watches as it sinks, his breathing heavy.

JJ leads him over to a large rock and they sit down together. "You can't think like that Luka. It couldn't of been your fault that they got bit."

"It is, though. If we hadn't gone back, they'd all still be alive. I should be dead, not them!"

"I'm sure that's not the case. One way or another, you're family probably would have died. The only reason most of the people in that cabin are alive is because we were in the woods the first night. Pure luck. You're family wouldn't want you to feel guilty, they'd want you to survive for them."

"Not after I shot them..." He mutters.

"You can't think of it as shooting your family. Those monsters, they weren't your family. That thing that was left when Ella died, that wasn't her. Ella was the girl who made copies of the copies of the Max in a bikini pictures, not a flesh eating monster. Once people turn, they're not people. We've got to face that the only family any of us has anymore is in that cabin."

"I guess you're right."

JJ raised an eyebrow at him. "I _know _I'm right."

Luka chuckles, and JJ gets up. "Where are you going?" He asks.

"Inside..."

"What happened to 'tell me your life story, I'll tell you mine'?"

"Oh, so you wanna know the story of Jennifer Joy? Well, it all starts with Max and I tearing the heads off of barbies when we were five..."

A few hours later, the pair snuck back into the house. Iggy was on watch, but you could tell he was asleep from the snores coming from the corner. Luka laid back down on the floor of the boys room, and JJ went back to the room she shared with the girls. But unlike last time, Luka slept the rest of the night.

Which was probably a mistake.

A figure wearing a black ski mask and stilettos crept into the room. Once she was sure that the boys were asleep, she stealthily walked over to Luka. Sitting down on the floor, she started taking out the contents of her bag. To most these would look like normal things, but to the select few, the people who were smart, these were torture devices.

The girl quickly opened and closed containers, applying powders and mascaras, eyeshadow of all colors, and pink lip glosses. When she was finished, the boy was unrecognizable. And that was just how she wanted it. With a smirk, she exited the room, the only sign she was ever there a stray strand of bright red hair on the ground.

* * *

**Day Four of the Zombie Apocalypse**

**(Max pov)**

Early the next morning, the whole cabin is awakened by the sound of laughter. This is soon followed by chuckles and shouts from the guys' room. All of the girls, including me, tiredly walk into the room to see what the commotion is about.

Nudge, the first to enter the room, suddenly bursts out in giggles. I push my way into the room, and take in the scene before me. JJ looks like she's trying not to laugh, Lissa's smiling smugly, Devin's smirking, Angel and Nudge are giggling and whispering together, but that all fades away when I see Luka. He's the reason for the laughter, his face covered in makeup.

"What's so funny?" Luka asks, yawning.

"Dude, you may want to go look in a mirror." Iggy says.

Luka gets up and walks into the bathroom, the rest of us trailing after him. We gather around the doorway, watching his reaction when he looks in the mirror. Studying himself, he says, "I don't really think this is my color. What do you guys think?"

Nudge and Angel study him, and nod. "It's definitely too bright."

"Ella probably would have picked a lighter pink." Angel contributes. Then she cringes, and says, "I'm sorry, Max. I didn't mean to-"

I interrupt her apology. "It's okay, Ange. You're right, anyways."

We all turn back to Luka as he says, " Lissa, next time you might want to go lighter on the lipstick. Too much makeup masks my natural beauty."

Lissa snorts. "What natural beauty?"

Luka gasps dramatically. "How dare you!" He snaps his fingers in her face, and struts out of the room.

A few minutes after that, Fang, Iggy, JJ, and I are sitting around a map planning our route to Virginia. We stare at the map, sleepy eyed from having taken turns keeping watch all night. In the background, we can hear the shuffle of feet and mumbled apologies when someone dropped something. The others, only slightly less tired, were packing up the cars, taking anything they thought useful from the house.

In hindsight, telling them they could take whatever they thought was useful probably wasn't such a good idea, considering Nudge was packing jewelry and heels into the car.

Fang leans closer to the map and traces a path with his finger. "What if we took I-40, and went through here?" He said.

"No, we should take a longer trip. We have a better chance of meeting survivors that way." Iggy argues, mapping his own route out on the map.

"That'll take too much gas and time. There's a better chance we'll actually survive this trip if we go quicker."

"Well, this could be our last chance for a road trip. Why not see what we can?" JJ asks.

"I don't know how much of a road trip this'll be. We can't exactly make a stop at Disney World, unless you want to clear the whole park of zombies." I say.

Nudge and Angel come bounding over, suddenly wide awake. "Did we hear Disney world?" Nudge says, bouncing on her heels. Though she was in high school, I sometimes got the feeling Nudge should be in pre-school.

"Um, sorry to break it to you guys, but-"

I'm cut off by Nudge yelling to the others. "Hey, guys! Max says we're going to Disney World!"

"Disney World!" Evan shouts.

"Max, I'm not sure that's exactly realistic." Devin says.

"Yeah, girl." Luka says in a valley-girl accent. He still has the makeup on, much to Lissa's surprise, and is playing it up. "I mean,like, the whole place is going to filled with flesh-eating SLUTS. And plus, there's the whole no electricity thing, which is totes cra-cra."

"Maybe we should give Max a break and let her rest. She might be coming up with unrealistic ideas, due to lack of sleep." Brigid says.

"So, no Disney?" Angel asks.

"No, no Disney. Come on, I'll help you pack." Ari offers leading her away.

"Are you okay, Max. I know it's been stressful lately, so I understand if the pressures been getting a bit much." Nudge says, worriedly.

I turn back to the others, gaping. "You guys heard, tell her I never said anything about going to Disney!"

JJ just smirks, and says "Maybe Brigid was right, Max. We can handle this if you need to take a nap."

I glare at her and say, " I'm fine."

We, meaning Iggy and Fang with JJ and I making comments, continue to argue until we have a route that was a compromise of what both boys wanted.

When we're done, I hear Iggy sigh. "This would have been so much easier with Google maps."

This is met with nods of agreement, and Evan comes bounding over. "Hey, we're all packed up. Did you want to take one last look in the house?"

"Yeah, I'll do that right now." I say, walking back inside the house with Evan and Devin.

We go through the kitchen first, putting a sharp knife and a few missed cans of food in a backpack. Walking into the living room, Evan says, "So, Devin, did you live here you're whole life?"

Devin shakes her head, and picks up a few of her father's journals. "We used to live in North Carolina with my grandma, but that was when I was about two. We moved to Virginia when the rest of the family tried to confront my father about his zombie obsession. They thought he was mentally unstable, so he moved us all to a secluded cabin in the woods."

Evan chuckles. "Not exactly the best way to convince someone you're not crazy."

"No, I guess not." Devin says, starting to chuckle too.

"Did you like living here?" Evan asks, curious.

"Honestly, I had mixed feelings about it. It was beautiful living out here, and it was a lot of fun hiking in and spending time outside in the woods. But I always wanted to spend time with other people my age, you know? It got kind of lonely with my only company being my parents and a six year old."

"I could barely camp with my family. Years and years of that? I'd have been in jail by now!" Evan says.

"Yeah, I used to have a brother too, but then he got annoying fast..." Devin trails off, looking at her nails. Evan's eyes go wide, and we both take a few steps away from the girl. Suddenly, she starts laughing and says, "I'm kidding. You should see the looks on your faces!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just finish this." I say, moving on to the next room. The rest of the search is uneventful, until we get to Devin's room. She stands in the middle and just looks over it.

"Devin? We'll find your sister. I know we will." Evan says.

"How can you know that?" Devin asks, turning to the other girl.

"I've got a gut feeling. You have to trust me on this."

Devin looks hesitant, but eventually nods.

"Come on." Evan says, and leads her out of the room. I follow behind them, giving them room to talk. Being new to the group, both girls had become quick friends. Evan with her funny yet caring personality, and Devin, who could be slightly hostile truthfully, were unlikely friends, but I guess the saying 'opposites attract' is true.

Once we get back outside, we quickly put the two bags we had packed in the cars and get in. I'm in a car with Angel, Nudge, and Lissa. Unlike our last few car rides, no music is played and the absence of Ella's out of tune singing is missed, something that I never thought I'd say.

We drive for most of the day, stopping at one or two gas stations to refuel the cars. Without the power, we had to rely on the red bottles of gas that the stations sold.

At around five, we make it to a campground that we were going to be spending the night at. We unload the tents and sleeping bags we had packed and quickly set up. Luka, who still hasn't taken the makeup off, continues his valley-girl act.

"Ugh, I can't believe you guys are making me put up my own tent! Why can't one of you big, strong, men do it for me?" Luka says, walking over to Fang. Batting his eyelashes at a highly uncomfortable looking Fang, he continues. "You wouldn't mind putting my tent up, right?"

"Luka, sorry to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure Fang doesn't swing that way." JJ says.

Luka turns to her and tries to flip his hair. But since his hair is fairly short, he just manages to fan the air around him. He sniffs disdainfully, and turns back to his tent. Of course, he puts it up quickly, having experience with putting up and taking down tents.

"Well," Nudge steps into the middle of the circle of tents and claps her hands. "It is now time for our F.U. meeting, so if you boys would move along..." When nobody moves, Nudge tries again. "If you don't move when I count to three, I will make you move!"

Coming from such a small girl, this threat shouldn't be met with six boys running into the woods. But it is, because all of them know that Nudge will carry out with this threat, even getting the help of the rest of us.

"Okay." Angel says, sitting down on one of the logs surrounding the fire. "This meeting of the Fangirls United club has officially commenced. Nudge?"

"Last meeting, we achieved our goal of getting Max and Fang on a date, but our mission doesn't end there. Max apparently hasn't developed any feelings for Fang, so we have to keep at this. But, since we're in the process of broadening our goals, we will now be trying to get other people together too."

"So, and this is mandatory if you wish to stay in the club, we'll be going around and recording who each girl in the club likes. Max, since you never were officially made a member of the club, this doesn't apply to you."

At this I fist pump, and the others roll their eyes. Even if I had to do it, I still would have said that I didn't like anyone. Because what these girls couldn't seem to get into their head was that it was true. But I'm happy that I don't have to hear a lecture on how I do have feelings for Fang, so I'm grateful.

"Evan, who do you like?" JJ asks, ready to record it on a piece of paper.

The girl looks down and blushes. "Gazzy..." I hear her mutter, but only because I'm right next to her.

JJ asks again and she repeats herself. Her answer is met with silence, until Nudge says, "You like Gazzy? But I like him!"

"Well, this is awkward. This is why you don't make clubs to get people together. If anyone would like to join my 'Forever Alone' club, you're all welcome." I say sarcastically.

"Of course this happens to me! I like Iggy, but then I find out JJ likes him. So, I try to move on to Sloan, but he cheats on me! Then I start to like Gazzy, and I think that maybe I'll actually get into a good relationship. But noooo, the zombie apocalypse has to happen, and now another girl likes him! Why can't I just get a break for once? Is that too much to ask? I mean-" Nudge is interrupted by my hand.

"Wait, JJ, you like Iggy?" I ask.

"Well, I used to have a small crush on him. I'm getting over it though." She answers.

"Yeah, that wouldn't have worked out." Angel says. "It was obvious he liked Ella, and with what happened the other day... I'd be surprised if he got in another relationship for a while."

"So, Devin, what about you?" I ask quickly, trying not to linger on the topic of my sister.

Devin only shrugs. "I don't really know anyone that well. Luka seems kind of nice."

"I'm not so sure anybody here has a chance with him. No straight guy likes makeup that much." Lissa contributes.

"Come on. I can guarantee that Luka is straight." Devin argues.

"Oh, really? Ten bucks he's not." Lissa bets.

"You're on." Devin says, shaking Lissa's hand.

"What about you, Angel?" Brigid asks.

The blonde blushes a crimson red. "I've liked Ari for a while now..." This is met with a chorus of 'awe's and even I have to admit that I think it's cute.

"Lissa, Brigid, you guys?" Angel says, trying to get the subject off herself.

They both list guys I don't know from our old town. When we're done, we move onto a new subject: my love life. Of course, this is non-existent, but the members of the F.U. seem to think otherwise.

"So, Max. When is Fang going to take you on another date?" Evan asks.

"Okay, first of all, Fang didn't take me on a date. I was forced into it by a bunch of crazy girls! And secondly, the next time I'm going to go on a date is when you guys decide you want to force me to go on one." I answer.

Nudge sighs. "Well, since Max isn't going to be cooperative, we need to focus on another couple. And since there is only one of those that won't cause an argument, I think we all know who I'm talking about." All heads turn to Angel.

"I don't know guys. He probably doesn't even like me back." Angel says miserably.

"Oh, honey, you can't think like that! He'd be lucky to have you." Nudge consuls.

"So, I think we should set them up on a date." Brigid squeals.

"Not tonight. I think that a brunch would be better for them." JJ says.

"Brunch? Why?" I ask, skeptical.

Nudge rolls her eyes, as if this is obvious. "Because Angel is, no offense Ange, pure. And brunch is more innocent than dinner in the woods."

"You think he would...? EW!" Angel shouts, grossed out.

"Okay!" I yell. "Meeting's finished."

"Hey, you can't say that! Only Angel and I get to say that." Nudge pouts.

"Iggy, get dinner ready!" I call over to him.

At the sound of food, Nudge forgets her complaints and heads over to the cars to help Iggy.

After dinner, we're all fighting over who takes first watch. Luka finally volunteers, which I find suspicious, since who volunteers for watch? But I dismiss it, because I'm exhausted.

I drift off, the snores of others and the crackling of a fire lulling me to sleep.

* * *

**(3rd person point of view)**

When he was sure the others were asleep, Luka crept over to the cars. Yes, there was a reason he volunteered and that thing was called revenge. He had acted like the makeup hadn't upset him, only because it was worth it to see the smirk slide off Lissa's face.

He carefully opens the trunk of the car, wincing when it makes a loud sound. He checks to make sure that no one had woken up, and turns back to the car. Digging through the bags, he quickly finds the scissors.

This morning, he had known that Lissa was putting makeup on him. He had lived in the wild, he was by no means a heavy sleeper._Let her do this,_he had thought,_I'll get my revenge soon enough. _When the others had seen him, he had played it off as a joke, even letting Iggy take pictures on his phone with the leftover battery. It was all part of the plan.

Closing the trunk, he silently walked over to Lissa's sleeping bag. The girl would never know what hit her.

One piece at a time, he slowly snipped off her hair. Once he was done, it slightly resembled Miley Cyrus's. Putting the scissors away, he walked back to his post, where he sat smirking, wondering what her reaction would be.

Hours later, way past Luka's turn for watch, Lissa woke up. Her head felt oddly light, but she dismissed it. Getting up, she walks over to the cars to go the bathroom. Passing them, she turns to the side mirror. She never was one to pass up looking at her reflection. But unlike most days, upon seeing her reflection she screamed.

The others burst awake, all but Nudge, who had always been a light sleeper. They rush over to her, to see what happened to the red head.

"My-my hair!" She cries.

Brigid hugs her friend, assuring her that it will grow back eventually.

Seeing Luka's smirk, she suddenly lunges at him. "You!" She yells as she gets held back by Max and JJ. "You did this to me! I'll get you back for this."

Luka gives her an innocent look, as if to say '_me_?' and points to himself. Lissa lunges again, and he smirks.

"Go back to bed guys." Max urges the guys, while the girls console Lissa.

"It's going to be okay, Lissa. It doesn't look that bad." Nudge tries, but Lissa just shakes her head.

"No, this was too far. This means war."

* * *

**So, I really liked this chapter. I'm taking a break of using OC's for this chapter, so VampireRide's character, Logan, will be entered next chapter. What do you guys think about the F.U. meetings? Or what about Lissa vs. Luka? Anyways, it's shout out time! I can't say how happy I was that I got fourteen reviews, even if I now have 69 reviews and it's slightly awkward. Stupid perverted friends... Anyways!**

**Thanks to- **

**VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter, making two OCs, helping me with this chapter, and a bunch of other stuff :D)**

**boxtoplad999 (For reviewing every chapter, making an OC, and getting the LOTD)**

**Bradykins98 (For reviewing the chapter)  
**

**HunterOfArtemis31 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**Disney'sGurl (For reviewing, getting the LOTD, and your ideas)**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter)**

**MusicAnonymous (For reviewing- your's made me laugh)**

**SamDaRomanticWriter (For reviewing- glad to make you laugh, maybe I will if we get to 15 reviews for one chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- Fire Werewolf (For using the word bacon in a review)**

**Lootmagoot (For reviewing the chapter)**

******lexipepsi99 (For reviewing every chapter- you probably take that 'you review fast thing back now, don't you?)**

******theAngeldevilchild (For reviewing the chapter- loved the 'any dead one' comment')  
**

******Guest reviewer- tennislovah (For reviewing the chapter)**

******And thanks to anyone else who favorited, followed, or read the chapter!**

**Now onto the reward thing.**

**5 reviews- Another F.U. meeting and Iggy and Max will talk about Ella**

**10 reviews- Angel and Ari's date and some more of another pairing**

**15- Fax moment (Let's see if we can finally get here!)**

**Well, here's the LOTD, but I'm just going to give the winner a sneak peak of the next chapter for this one.**

**LOTD-**

**I know I drive you crazy, hmm, sometimes**  
**I know I call you lazy, and that's most times**  
**But you complete me, and that's no lie**  
**You are my tuxedo, and I'm your bow tie**

**And the question of the day!**

**QOTD-**

**Best prank you ever pulled, heard of, or got pulled on you?**

**And now, something new: a summery of the chapter!**

**So, in this chapter, Luka's cross dressing, Lissa's going into war, Fang still is barely talking, I'm not even sure where Sam is, Ari and Angel are going on a date, Nudge is having relationship problems, Evan and Devin are besties who's names rhyme, Max is mentally unstable according to everyone else and she's still oblivious to her feelings, and JJ's apperently a therapist. **

**Now, it's six am and I still haven't slept, so if I left anyone out use your imagination. Remember, I love reviews! They're like bacon!**

**-Random :D**


	10. Chapter 10

** *Running around the room* Hey guys! **

***Does back flip* I'm really happy that we got so many reviews. You guys made it to the Fax!**

***Runs into wall* Ow... So, anyways, the winner of the last LOTD were Wolf and MR Lover, boxtoplad99, and VampireRide won the one before that, so her OC is in this chapter. Wolf and MR Lover's will be in the next chapter.**

* * *

**Day Five of the Zombie Apocalypse**

I'm in the middle of a peaceful dream when I'm woken up. It's the first one I've had since all this started. I'd been having nightmares, but tonight was a brief look back at what I had before. Ella was there, and so were my parents. My dad had been reading the paper as he did every Sunday morning, Ella and I were gorging on a breakfast my mom had made, while mom had tried to convince us all to go to church. I feel a pang of guilt at how we had never done something that would so easily have made her happy. But that is quickly replaced by the happiness that comes from a dream like that. This is a good omen, I'm sure of it.

Or at least I was until I open my eyes.

The camp is in disarray. Lissa, who woke me up, is silently bawling. Iggy and Fang are trying to pack everything up while JJ and Angel are trying to wake everyone up. That's when I realize that I can't hear anything. My eyes go wide when I remember that I had put earplugs in last night when I couldn't sleep. How stupid could I have been?

I quickly take them out, and sound comes rushing in at full blast. Lissa's crying mixes with shuddering breaths as sobs racked her body and she tries to calm down. JJ and Angel are yelling for a sleepy eyed Nudge to get in the car. Gazzy's shouting at everyone to hurry up, throwing open car doors and shoving people inside. But the worst thing, the one that has everyone so worked up, are the moans and screams for help that are coming closer to the camp every minute.

I burst up, rushing to help the others. Before I can even take a step, a bloodied girl comes running out of the forest. Behind her at least fifty zombies come shuffling out of the woods. I wonder how the girl found so many, before grabbing the first thing I can reach, (_A rock, it's a rock,_I think) and diving into the action.

The others are right behind me. I take down a zombie and see Lissa and Brigid standing back to back fighting zombies. In any other situation it would be almost comical, but before I even have time to think about it, another zombie comes my way. I try to hit it's skull with the rock but the _thing_grabs my arm. I try to pull it away, but it's too strong. Another comes from behind and grabs my other arm. I duly note that I'm going to be killed by two zombies who were only a few years older than me when they died. One is dressed in tattered clothes, the other wearing a stained lab coat. _A doctor,_I think,_I'm going to be killed by a doctor. _For some reason the irony of this snaps me out of it. I start kicking and screaming, trying to make up for the valuable seconds that I had lost.

Then, suddenly, the lab coat zombie goes down, the other one following suit. I spin around and see Fang there. "You better be careful." He says, and leans in as if to tell me a secret. "I've heard there's a zombie apocalypse going on." I crack a grin before he hands me a bat and we both turn around, back into the action.

I take down a few zombies, before spinning around to check on everyone. Nudge, Ari, and Angel seem okay, only having a few scratches and bruises. JJ stands near them, a reassuring sight, and I know that the three of them will be okay. Sam is standing with with Brigid and Lissa, each of them taking on a zombie. This time there is nothing comical about it. Lissa has a deadly look on her face, and all three are covered in blood, hopefully not their own. Fang stands on his own, doing fine. Then I see Gazzy and Iggy standing off to the side, not fighting any of the zombies. I hear Gazzy shouting at Iggy, and see not so much hear Iggy shouting back. He's tampering with something that glints in the light. I realize what it is a second before Iggy throws it into the horde of zombies.

"Duck!" Iggy yells, and I drop like a stone and cover my head. When Iggy yells duck, you duck no matter what you're doing.

It's almost silent for a minute, while I have my ears are covered. I have a minute to worry, since I can't see or hear anything._What if Iggy had thrown it too close to someone? What if someone didn't duck fast enough? _But then the blast goes off and even with my eyes closed I see white. But what's worse it the sound. So loud it's deafening, it goes on for a few seconds, before red slimy things come raining down. One lands on me and I scream. A huge chunk of rotted, bloody, flesh is flung away from me, and I jump up and try to dodge the oncoming pieces.

The sight in front of me is one I had never thought of seeing and hoped I would never have to see again, though I probably would with the two pyros in the group. Though a majority of the zombies had been hit, evidence of this falling down from the sky, some were still in tact. And on fire. Walking flames shuffled along, chasing Nudge, Angel, and the others. I do a quick head count and, everyone is still there, including the girl who had led the zombies here.

Before I can even think about it, I run over to the cars to look for a fire extinguisher. The bomb may have been in our favor, but the flaming zombies were not. Not at all.

When I finally find it, I run over to Nudge and Angel first, trying to figure out how to work it. Lifting the hose, I spray a stream of white at the zombies closest to the girls. Although some of it hits them, they don't look hurt, so I run off to help the others. I spray zombies, and then hit them with the baseball bat. With all of us working together, we soon get rid of the remaining zombies. I gather the others in a circle, and check them all for injuries.

When I get to Iggy he says, "I'm fine. It's her we have to worry about." All eyes drift to the

mysterious girl that led the zombies here. Iggy suddenly walks over to her, and grabs her arm before she can run. Her eyes go wide. "Did you get bitten? Are you a SLUT?"

Then her eyes narrow, and she slaps Iggy. "For your information, I am not a slut. I'm probably less of a slut than you, since you grab random girls and ask them that." Then she starts muttering things I can't hear, but it sounds something like 'ducking glass mole'.

"So you didn't get bitten? What's with the bandage?" JJ asks, gesturing to the only thing on the girl that wasn't caked in blood and mud.

"No, well, yes, but I'm not turning into a zombie." The girl says. Everyone takes a step back, suddenly weary of this girl.

"What do you mean, not turning into a zombie?" Lissa asks.

"Guys, why don't we at least find out her name first?" I ask.

"Logan. My name's Logan."

Luka's head shoots up at this. "Logan?" He asks.

She nods, then her eyes go wide once again, and she breaks out in a grin. "Luka!" They run to each other, and Luka hugs her.

"What happened?" He asks. "I thought I... you know." Luka looks down guiltily.

"Wait, what do you mean?" She asks.

"Well, that first night... Mom and Dad got attacked by some zombies. I had to kill them." Logan covers her mouth with her hand to hold in a sob. "And then, Lauren was supposed to be at her friends house so, I thought..." She hugs him even harder, and he takes a shuddering breath.

She whispers something to him that I can't hear, and he nods. I can see Devin looking confused and a bit jealous. The others also look confused, but when I look at JJ, there's something else there. I can't exactly tell what, but I have a feeling it may be important.

Luka seems to come out of their little bubble first. "Oh!" He says. "Guys, this is my sister Logan." The jealousy leaves Devin's eyes, and she's the first one to greet her.

We're going through introductions, when JJ suddenly speaks up. The look had faded into suspicion. "Aren't we forgetting something? A girl comes in here covered in blood, leading a horde of zombies, claiming that she was bit, but not turning into a zombie, and we're introducing ourselves?" She says all this somewhat skeptically, but not unkindly.

"Oh, right. Well, it's kind of a long story, so we might want to sit down." Logan offers.

"Girl, before anyone tells any stories you need a bath. I'm sorry but you kind of reek." Nudge says. She walks Logan to the bathrooms, ranting about unicorns, sporks, and someone named Magnus Bane.

Soon they both come back, Logan clean and wearing Nudge's clothes. They're a bit too small on her, so I decide that if she stays I'll give her some of my clothes.

"On the first night, I got called down to the CDC." At our skeptical looks, she adds, "I'm an intern there. My boss was frantic, going off about some horrible disease that was spreading, making humans eat other people. I thought he was going crazy, and that we were just getting an unusual number of cannibal cases."

"But that wasn't the case?" Sam asks.

"Sadly, no. When I got there, the whole office was chaos. Apparently, some of the doctors working with the disease got it into their system. I don't even know how something like that happens, they were just working with some of the flesh."

Iggy interrupts. "Were they all wearing gloves?"

"Of course." Logan answers.

"Well, if something had gotten on their skin, in a cut or something like that, the disease could have been transmitted."

"I honestly don't know. I had gotten there after this had happened. Sorry." Iggy waves the apology away, and she continues. "People were running around screaming, so I rushed to my boss's office. I found him in there, but he was being cornered by a man. I did what anyone would do. I grabbed the first thing I saw, and hit the guy in the back of the head. The blow should have only knocked him out, but it went through his skull. It was sickening."

"The first kill is the worst kill." Evan jokes, and Iggy, JJ, and I are the only ones who seem to get the reference.

"Anyways, I hadn't gotten there in time. He was bitten, and I had no clue what to do. We decided to clean up the wound, and try to figure out what the heck was going on. Well, it turns out that the CDC had been researching this for a while. My boss pulled out stacks and stacks of notes, and we started going through them. Hours later, he was starting to feel the effects of the bite. Eventually, we had concocted a cure that we were pretty sure would work. The scientist had deducted that the cause of the disease was solanum, a virus.

Iggy slaps the table and looks at me. "Max! We should have known! I mean, that's The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks for you uneducated folks, page two. Wait, doesn't that mean that there's no stopping it, since you combat a virus with immunization? And since you have to get a disease to become immune, wouldn't you just die?"

Logan smiles, like she had been hoping someone would bring this up. "Exactly. Since there was no stopping it, we had to take alternative measures. Instead of focusing on stopping the disease, we made a vaccine that made the cells, and the brain, strong enough to resist the disease. So, even if you have it, you'd still be able to live and you wouldn't have to eat flesh."

"That still doesn't explain your bandage." Ari points out.

"Right. So, we had the prototype ready, and I was getting the needle ready for him. But, he had turned. I didn't even see it coming. He had moaned, and I thought he was just in pain, so I tried to reassure him, but then he lunged at me! I managed to fend him off for a bit, but then he-he bit me. That was when I had to... Yeah. But I used the vaccine on myself, and here I am!"

She finishes her story, and JJ, Iggy, Fang, and I look at each other. Iggy raises his eyebrows, and JJ shrugs. Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Fang shake his head 'no'. But when I look at him, he doesn't say anything, so I turn back to Logan and say, "You can stay."

"Thank you." She says, smiling.

Luka and her get up, and the rest follow soon after until it's only Iggy and I sitting at the table.

"What do you think of her?" I ask.

Iggy smiles sadly. "She reminds me of Ella, how she used to be. Always so smart, and reading all those books. They would have been friends."

I nod, but take a minute to think about what I want to say. "Do you... want to talk about it?" I ask. Mostly for him, but a small bit of me feels like I need to talk too. The day she died, the F.U. had talked about her, but we hadn't talked about her death.

"I just miss her, you know? I keep turning to tell her something, but she's never there." Iggy says.

"Yeah... when I'm laying in my sleeping bag at night, I keep thinking that she'll suddenly start ranting about her latest book. She never does."

"I keep thinking about when she turned. I called her a _SLUT_. Ella doesn't deserve that."

"Iggy, it wasn't your fault. It was your first reaction." I say. I was kind of worried. Iggy had tears gathering in his eyes. I had only seen Iggy cry twice in my life- once when I stole his last twinkie on the bus in second grade and the second time when we had watched the World War Z trailer.

"I should have gotten there faster. If I had just noticed that she wasn't there, she'd be alive right now, Max! It was our job to protect her. If I couldn't even protect Ella, how am I supposed to help lead this whole group?"

"Oh, Iggy." I say, moving to sit next to him. It's just as much my fault as it is yours. But we can't blame ourselves. Ella wouldn't want us to live like that."

"Can we even call this living? Having to kill dead people, always on the run, eating out of tin cans. Does that sound like any kind of life to you? Ella knew it wasn't."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"She always talked about how much she hated this. How it wasn't humane. And I'm starting to think she's right."

"Iggy-"

"No, it's okay, Max. This is just really hard on me. I shouldn't have said anything." He moves to stand up, but I grab his arm.

"Iggy, I'm glad you said something. You can always talk to me, you know that right?"

"Yeah, of course Max. Same goes for you, okay? Especially if the F.U.'s harassing you too much."

I laugh and watch him walk away. Then I see Angel come running up to me.

"Max, there's going to be an F.U. meeting soon. You wanna help me set up?"

"Sure, Ange." I smile at her, going over to pick up chairs. We move to the fire pit, and set them up in a circle.

Once everyone gets here, Logan included, Angel and Nudge start the meeting. "We are now starting this meeting of Fangirls United. We would like to welcome our newest member, Logan Wes. To start today's meeting, we will be signing her in, using our new pledge. Please repeat after Angel." Nudge says.

Angel holds out a book, and recites their 'fangirl pledge'.

"I love. I laugh. I scream. I shout. I am a fangirl. That's what I am about. I come in all shapes and sizes. My adoration, no one realizes…Is all in good and harmless fun…From the midnight darkness to the noonday sun…Yes I adore. Yes I obsess. I know my limits. My adoration is no less. So look below. And you will see. What brings out the fangirl in me. But our love will always, Stick like glue. Unite, dear fangirls…One and all. United we stand. Separate We Fall…"

"Onto the next matter of business." Nudge says, once Logan was sworn in. "Angel and Ari. We'll have to reschedule their date. Any ideas on specifics?"

"They should go on an ice cream date! If it's warm enough, we could put Angel in a sundress, and they would be so cute! Plus, it's ice cream and who doesn't like that?" Lissa says.

I roll my eyes. I had thought Lissa was getting... better, but apparently not. "Lissa, to make ice cream, you need ice. Do we have ice? No. How are we supposed to make ice cream? I knew you were stupid, but not that stupid."

Lissa narrows her eyes, and I'm actually surprised. I had expected her to get all emotional. "Listen, Max. I know you're sisters just died and all, but you don't have to be such a jerk about it. You don't know anything about me, or my past, or what I've been through. So, until you do, just shut up!"

We all sit there, shocked. Even I had no clue what happened. We just watched Lissa storm away, our mouths hanging open.

"Max, I kind of think that Lissa's right. That was pretty harsh." Angel says.

"She brought Ella into it! She had no right to do that!"

"I think you should go apologize." Angel says. I start to object, but am met with the glares of dedicated fangirls. As I walk towards where Lissa stormed off to, I start to hear quiet crying.

"Lissa?" I say, gently.

"Go away, Max. Wouldn't want you to catch my stupid." She replies, bitterly.

She finally comes into view and I see her sitting on a tree stump, tears running down her face.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. That was really uncalled for." I say, sincerely. "Are you crying because I said that?"

"Only partially..." She trails off.

"Do you... uh, want to talk about it?" I was desperately hoping that she would say no, but today was not my lucky day. Lissa nods her head, and I ask another question. "Why are you crying?"

Lissa takes a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you something that I haven't ever told anyone, besides Dylan. The reason I'm telling you is not because I like you, it's because I know you'll be honest about what you think. Got it?"

"Yeah." I say, holding up my hands.

**(A/N- This next part is Lissa's 'past'. It deals with some touchy subjects so if you don't want to read about that, I marked where it ends. Really all that happens is that Lissa had a really rough childhood and she tells Max.)**

"When I was six, I learned that I was Dyslexic. My parents hated the thought that their daughter wasn't perfect, that I wasn't exactly like my older sister. My mom started yelling at me all the time, telling me how stupid I was." At this I cringe, since I basically told her the same thing. "And when my mom wasn't home, my dad would-" She breaks off, and I awkwardly pat her back. "My dad would beat me. I had never told my mom, still haven't.

"But that's not it. When I was in sixth and seventh grade, I started to, and this is one of the stupidest things I have ever done, but I started to cut myself. Nothing helped. And I was at a party this one time, and someone offered me drugs." She takes a deep breath to calm herself down. This brief pause lets me catch up to my thoughts as well. I couldn't believe that Lissa had done all of this. She was... Her!

"So, I tried them. It was the worst experience I've ever had. I would never think of trying them ever again. But the worst thing is that I've tried to kill myself before." I gasp, quietly. "Yeah, I know, it's horrible. I'm disgusted with myself. And when it didn't work the first time I tried four more times. My mom finally started taking me to therapy. It helped, but only a little. Then in high school, I met Dylan. We were best friends. Then one day, he told me he was being abused. Our friendship went deeper than what I have with Brigid. We could actually talk. And now he's gone, and I don't even know what to do with myself. And that's pretty much it." Her voice cracks in the middle of her sentence, and she starts sobbing again.

"Oh, Lissa. I had no idea." I say, hugging her.

"Of course you didn't. I put on a mask at school, and no one but Dylan knew the real me."

**(A/N- Okay, this is pretty much where it ends.)**

For the next twenty minutes, I hold Lissa while she cries. I don't tell her that it's going to be okay, because she was right when she said I would be honest. But I do tell her it was going to get better.

Eventually, she stops crying, and we both stand up. "Now, I'm going to redo my makeup. If anyone hears about this, well, let's just say Luka won't be the only one with pink hair." Lissa says with as much dignity as she can muster.

"Luka doesn't have pink hair. Oh. Ooh! You're a evil little devil, you know that?" I say.

"I've been told." Lissa says with a smirk. As she walks away, I think about how everyone has secrets that they hide. Looking at the camp, everyone smiling, I wonder what secrets everyone here hides.

I see JJ across the camp and walk over to her. I had been thinking about that look that she had on her face earlier, and what she said yesterday at the F.U. Meeting.

Later that night, Fang and I are sitting up together, keeping watch. I realize that I never thanked him for saving me this morning.

"Hey, Fang?" I asks.

"Yeah?" He says.

"Thanks. For helping me earlier."

"Oh, that was nothing. But if you wanted to thank me you could just owe me."

"What do you mean 'owe you'?" I ask. I had never liked owing people.

"When I need a favor, I'll ask you and you'll have to do it."

I look at him wearily. "I'm gonna regret this aren't I?" I sigh. "Okay, fine."

"Max, do me a favor," Fang said after a moment and I groaned at his smirk.

"What?" I snapped out.

"Don't trust Logan." He muttered, looking me dead in the eye, that smirk gone.

"What? Why? If one of us gets bit she could-"

"Max come on, even you aren't that naive." Fang whispered, reaching out and brushing my hair behind my ear and cupping my cheek in his hand. "I just... we both know there's no cure, and I don't want you to get hurt." For a minute I pretended we weren't in the apocalypse and I felt myself lean into his touch, wanting the comfort. Fang began to lean closer to me till we were inches apart, but all too soon I remembered where we were and what we were in the middle of, and I couldn't let this happen. And this was _Fang_, the guy that I had been telling Nudge and Angel I had no feelings for for the past week. I couldn't let myself fall for someone and then lose them, so I pulled back.

Hurt flashed through Fang's eyes for a moment before he became a rock again and stiffly sat up, leaning against the tree. 'No, don't be mad at me' I thought and decided a little bit of affection couldn't hurt. So I laid my head on his shoulder and looked up at the stars, praying this was right, and I knew it was when he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. So for now, we could live in a fantasy where we could be together, but when morning came tonight would just be a dream.

* * *

**So, what do ya think? Lissa telling Max about her past? Logan? Her cure? Do you think it really works? And yes, I know I lied. Angel and Ari did not get their date. But I couldn't find a way to fit it in, and the Fax makes up for it, right? Now, let me tell you how awesome you are- 15 reviews for this chapter, and two for two other chapters! That's 17 reviews since my last episode! So you guys earned your Fax. It might be kind of sudden, but you have to realize that they know that they could die at any moment. You can thank VampireRide for writing it though!**

**Special thanks to-**

**Vampire Ride (For reviewing every chapter, making two OCs, writing the Fax scene, and being my BOB)**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter, and first review)**

**theAngeldevilchild (For reviewing, and the idea)**

**Fiora Braginski ( For reviewing and the prank idea)**

**SamDaRomanticWriter (For reviewing, hope you liked the zombie part!)**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter, and getting the song right. Your OC will be in the next chapter, hopefully!)**

**Aisling07 (For reviewing this chapter and previous ones)**

**Lootmagoot (For one word- bacon)**

**boxtoplad (For reviewing every chapter and also bacon)**

**Bradykins98 (For reviewing, your wish was granted!)**

**Guest (For reviewing. You didn't get the song right, plus you have to get it right first, so sadly Luna won't be in the next chapter. Next time you know the song, could you put in her name, age, personality, flaws, and things like that in case you get it?)**

**Maximumride11446 (For reviewing)**

**MaxPercyClaryNewtLenaKatnissKy (For reviewing, that made me smile for, like, five minutes!) **

**lexipepsi (For reviewing every chapter)**

**marietheham (For reviewing multiple chapters) **

**Flyingwiththeflock425 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**And everyone else who favorited, read, or followed!**

**Now, onto more pressing matters. I have news... I JUST GOT THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE BY MAX BROOKS AND AM LIVING BY IT! If you guys haven't read it, I would highly suggest it. It's chocked full of zombie info, though it doesn't say a thing about SLUTS... Anyways, it's awesome. **

**Reward chart thing!**

**5 reviews- Max feels awkward about Fang and what she learned about Lissa**

**10 reviews- Angel and Ari actually get their date!**

**15 reviews- Prank war! Oh, and maybe Max won't be soo confuzzled about her and Fang... **

**Okay! So, sorry I haven't really responded to any reviews, I've been super busy with my friend stuff, state testing is coming up, and my dad's coming home soon! I just made two cakes, both of which my dog decided to eat. I'm pretty sure that my cat brainwashed her into doing it though, so I'm not that upset. I'll be taking another two hours tomorrow to make my third and fourth cake in two days. All while cleaning up.**

**And now a note for anyone who has made an OC. If you have noticed, Luka and Logan have been getting a lot of spotlight. This is because VampireRide always talks to me and gives me tons of ideas on what to do with her OCs. If you feel like your OC hasn't been getting enough time in the spotlight, then you have to talk to me. Give me ideas on what to do with them! I try to do the best I can to fit your guys's image, but I can't do that if you don't talk to me. **

**Well, speaking of OC's what do you think of Logan? I know Luka got a good response, but what about his sister? Do you think that she's going to turn? That she really found the cure? Is going to be part zombie?**

**Anyways, no LOTD for this chapter, cuz I'm already backed up on those. But I do have questions!**

**QOTD**

**What do you think will cause the zombie apocalypse? Or do you think the world is going to end a different way?**

**Personally, I think that some whack job scientists are gonna be messing with things they shouldn't be in a lab somewhere. Or nuclear weapons. And as for the other question, global warming. I'm not going to start a rant, but I get annoyed by some of the people on this planet.**

**SO. In this chapter, Logan is half-zombie, Luka didn't kill his whole family, Max almost dies, Fang saves Max, Sam actually says something, Brigid doesn't really say anything, Lissa is an actual person, Nudge and Angel are still head of the F.U., Iggy has an emotional side, JJ has something against Logan (?), Ari didn't get his date, Devin is jelly, Evan is apparently giving everyone the silent treatment, Gazzy and Iggy blow some zombie up, and these zombies are on FIIIIIREEE! Yeah, sorry had to do that.**

**If anyone gets the TMI reference you get virtual cookies! Well, I've got to go freak out about the number of reviews I have, and beta a friends story while telling her about my horrible cake adventure. If anyone would like to hear it, just pm me. It'll be about 50% accurate.**

**-Random :D **

**Oh, and I don't own the Fangirl pledge. Found it on the wonderful thing we call the internet.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey you guys! You know who's awesome? You are! We got 18 reviews! *Does cartwheel***

**Well,****_ technically_****, we got 14 reviews for last chapter, but since the last update we got 21! So, I'm counting it! **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Someone does die, and Wolf and MR Lover's OC does come into the chapter. (Well, kinda... You'll see what I mean.)**

* * *

**Day Six of the Zombie Apocalypse**

Unlike yesterday, I'm awoken rather peacefully. Well, if you consider getting slapped in the face by Nudge peaceful, I was.

"Max! Get your lazy but up!" Nudge says, about to slap me again.

I grab her arm before she can and scowl at her. "Why? I don't see any SLUTS. Let me sleep." I say, ready to go back to sleep.

"You have to help get Angel ready!" She huffs. "You know Ella would want you to."

I scoff. "Uh, no she wouldn't. She would want me to stay the heck away so that I didn't mess anything up."

"Well, neither Ella nor Angel can help, Devin, Evan, and Logan can't do makeup, so the only help I've got is JJ, Lissa and Brigid. It's rush hour at the restaurant, and we need all hands on deck, lady!"

I stay quiet for a minute, then look up at Nudge and say, "Wait, what?" She just sighs and hauls me up, telling me to get dressed.

Once I do, she pulls me over to a makeshift beauty salon behind one of the cars. There's a table next to the car that holds everything from nail polish to perfume. Across from that the girls stand, holding up clothes, debating what to put on Angel. And directly in the center sits the blond, fidgeting nervously in a gray folding chair.

"Hey, what's the matter Ange?" I ask.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling, you know. That something is going to go wrong." She answers, clasping her hands tightly in her lap.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. You are going to look amazing, Ari's going to love you, and you two will live happily ever after." Angel smiles at me, but doesn't look very reassured. I squeeze her shoulder, and am about to say something else before Nudge calls me over.

"Duty calls." I tell Angel with a roll of my eyes, before walking away.

"Yes, Nudge?" I ask.

"We need your opinion." She says. "Do you think we should go with a flirty, but casual look," She gestures to a lacy blue top and tight, dark blue jeans,"a 'I'm hot and you can't have me' look," at this, she points to a short, black dress, "or the innocent look?" Finally, she holds up a white dress with a black bow around the middle, and feathers surrounding the bottom.

I study all three for a minute before mimicking Nudge and pointing at the white dress. "That one looks like a tacky halloween costume." I take the black one in my hands, and say, "Guys, she's not going to a funeral." I roll my eyes, then wave to the first outfit. "I guess that one. At least she'll be able to run." Nudge gasps, and takes the black dress from my hand.

"For your information, that 'tacky halloween costume' over there costs three hundred dollars!" She shrieks.

"Three hundred dollars too much..." I mutter, but Nudge doesn't seem to hear me as she continues her rant.

"And this-" She waves the black dress in my face violently, "funeral dress? It's gucci! Gucci! I can not believe you! Have you no taste? What has this world come to? Next thing you know the sporks will be teaming up with the SLUTS! How hard is it to know the difference between a twenty dollar, cotton halloween costume and a three hundred dollar, designer, pure silk dress? Come on, Max! I mean, re-" Suddenly, Lissa grabs Nudge by the shoulders and starts shaking her.

"Get a hold of yourself, woman!" Lissa yells.

Nudge takes Lissa's hands off her shoulders and glances at her. "That was rather cliche, Lissa." She says dryly.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this girl beautified!" Lissa says.

I walk over to Angel while the others are picking out her makeup. "If I were you, I'd run while I could." I whisper discreetly, looking at one of Nudge's magazines.

"If I were you, I'd run while I could." She says back.

I'm momentarily confused. "What do you mean?" I ask, finally looking up from the article I was reading. There's a bit of fear on Angel's face, but why wouldn't there be? She was about to get assaulted by seven girls and various hair and makeup products. But then her eyes flick over to where the others are creeping towards us, and I finally understand.

Nudge is carrying two outfits instead of just one. Lissa is holding some rope, Bridgid is hauling another fold up chair over, and JJ is... missing?

By the time I figure it out, though it only took me seconds, it's too late. Arms wrap around me, and before I can struggle, Lissa is tying the rope around me. "Oh, Max. Did we forget to tell you this was a double date?" JJ asks from behind.

She tries to put a cloth, probably soaked with chloroform, over my mouth. I'm guessing they got it from Iggy, because who else would carry that around with them? I manage to get out "I'm gonna kill you Iggy!" before JJ slips the cloth over my mouth and it all goes black.

* * *

I blink my eyes open, and briefly try to remember what happened. When it comes back to me, I try to stand up, which is very hard when you're tied to a chair, and wrench my hand away from whoever's holding in.

Something sticky drips off my hand, and I look down at it to see a dark green streak of nail polish running from my nail to my wrist.

"What the fluff, Max? I was almost finished." JJ says.

I struggle to get out of the chair, reaching behind me to try to untie the bonds. "Let. Me. Out!" I growl.

Nudge walk by, and tsks. "Max, you would have been done by now if you were good like Angel." I glance over to see Angel admiring herself in the mirror. They had put blue eye shadow and nail polish on her and a light pink lip gloss. She notices me looking at her, and walks over.

"What do you think, Max?" She asks as she spins around.

"You look beautiful." I say sincerely. She grins, and skips over to talk to Nudge.

JJ cleans up my hand, untying me once she finishes. "Go get dressed. And don't try to go anywhere. Iggy's right over there with a brand new bottle of chloroform." I look to where she was pointing and see Iggy waving and holding a white bottle. He sees me looking at it and grins wider. "Hurry up now. We don't have all day." JJ says, shoving a pile of clothes in my hand, and pushing me towards the woods.

I change quickly, walking back towards the girls. When they see me, they gasp and start gushing about how pretty I look. I roll my eyes, but I look in the mirror just to humor them.

They had put me in a green button down shirt and white jeans. Thankfully Nudge had chosen flats for both Angel and me. I didn't have that much makeup on, or rather, less than they would usually put on me.

"So, let's get this brunch thing over with." I say, grabbing Angel by the arm. I whisper into her ear, "You run one way, and I'll run the other. They can't catch us both." She giggles, thinking I'm kidding.

When we walk out from behind the cars, I immediately see Fang and Ari. They're sitting at a makeshift table, with a stained white tablecloth and a cup full of wildflowers on it. Classy. There's a plate of breads, something that looks like soup, and a bowl full of berries.

Angel and I sit down, and pile food onto our plate. As I take a spoonful of the berries, I examine them closer. Most of them are blackberries, but there's another type, and I can't think of what they are. They're a light blue color, with a dark blue circle in the middle. My eyes widen as I recognize them.

I slap some of the berries out of Ari's hand. "Did you eat any of those?" I shout.

He gives me a bewildered look, then answers. "Yeah. If you're that hungry Ma-"

I cut him off. "I'm not hungry. Iggy, you idiot! Get over here!"

He comes running over, looking concerned. "Is everything alright?" He asks.

"No, everything isn't alright. Do you see what these?" I ask. His eyes widen, as he too recognizes them. "Where did you get these?"

"I didn't. Gazzy did. I-I told him to pick some, he told me he knew which ones were poisonous!"

"Gazzy!" I yell.

"Wait, guys. What's going on?" Angel asks nervously. When Gazzy arrives at the table, I explain.

"See these berries?" I ask, holding out a handful. "They're called Doll's eyes. And they're..." I trail off and look at Ari. "Poisonous."

"Well, I'm gonna live right? I'm just going to throw up some, right?" He asks, looking for assurance.

I look down, then slowly shake my head. He chokes out a gasp. "Um, with the resources we have, no, probably not... It'll be quick and painless. You'll go into cardiac arrest, and we could give you CPR, but the poison would probably kill you anyways."

Angel runs into Ari's arms, and hugs him tightly. I turn away, unable to watch. I see Iggy yelling a Gazzy, who looks close to tears. I place a hand onto his shoulder and say softly, "Come on, Iggy. It's not his fault, he couldn't have known."

"You're right." He says, stiffly. "It's mine."

"Iggy, it's not-"

"Yes, it is, and we both know it. I shouldn't have let him go out by himself. I should have looked at the berries before he put them on the table. It is my fault." He says, then walks away.

"Iggy! Don't walk away, we need to talk about this!" I call. I'm about to follow after him, but I take one look at Gazzy, with tears streaking down his face, and take him into a hug.

"We should go help Angel." I say, and Gazzy nods, taking a deep breath.

Together, the three of us lead Ari into a tent, and he lays down. Gazzy leaves to tell the others what happened, and Fang comes into the tent.

"How's he holding up?" Fang asks.

"He is right here." Ari says.

"Sorry, dude." I wonder how they can be so nonchalant when Ari could die any minute, and Angel is in tears. Ari notices too, and pulls her against him, hugging her to his side.

"It's alright." Ari answers. There's a silence that presses down on us, sombering us all up.

Or at least that's what I thought. I'm proven wrong when Fang jokes, "So, any dying words?" I glare at him, but am surprised when Ari chuckles and answers.

"Well, actually I do have a confession." Angel perks up at this, and I smile at what I'm guessing he'll say. Both Angel and me are shocked when he actually says, "Jeb... was my dad." Fang only widens his eyes slightly, but I full out stare.

"I was so embarrassed that my dad was the principle that I didn't tell anyone." He says, looking down. Angel looks interested, but behind that I see the disappointment.

"But Jeb came in after you moved here." I state.

"Yeah, he actually used to be a scientist. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what he was doing as principal. Unless he went to college without me knowing, he didn't have a teaching degree."

I ponder this for a bit, but then look at Angel again. I decide that we should give them some alone time, so I pull Fang out of the tent. When I grab his arm, I feel a faint spark, but dismiss it as static electricity and try not to think about last night.

I have no idea what last night meant or if it meant anything or why if Fang really would have kissed me. But now's not exactly the time to be thinking about my love life, or lack thereof, so I don't say anything.

A few minutes later, Angel flings herself out of the tent and races into Nudge's arms. Nudge holds her and rubs her back and I go to get her a glass of water.

As I'm pouring it, Fang comes over to me. "Do you want us to bury Ari, or... cremate him? We should really get on the road but..." Fang trails off, but I know what he means. I also know that by 'cremate' he means light a bonfire and burn him. He's got a point about how we've spent too much time here, but I think 'cremation' would be too much for Angel to handle.

"I think we should bury him. Do you need help?" I decide.

"Nah, Iggy's already working on a grave. I just wanted to check with you."

"Wait, what do you mean 'Iggy's already working on a grave'?" I ask.

"I just checked on him, and he's been digging since he ran off."

I slap my head. "Oh, great. This is just like that episode of The Walking Dead where that dude went crazy! We've got to go stop him." I start walking over to where Fang came from, but he grabs my shoulder.

"It's just his way of grieving, Max. He thinks it's his fault."

I jerked my shoulder free of his grasp. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I know that one of my best friends is being eaten alive by grief? That pretty soon all of us will be empty shells, not even capable of emotion?" I'm close to crying and I know it. I try to walk away, run to the safety of my tent where no one can see my tears, but Fang doesn't let that happen.

He pulls me into his chest, and doesn't let me go. Even when I pound on his chest, he holds on. Even when his shirt is soaked, he doesn't let me go. And we stand there, Angel's water and Ari's grave forgotten, for minutes or hours or days. I'm not even sure anymore.

* * *

We don't have time for a ceremony, but Angel stands by herself near Ari's grave while the rest of us pack up the cars. Today, we were planning on driving through North Carolina, or at least half way through it.

We all get into the car, Angel sniffling in the very back of the car. No one argued when she had claimed all three of the seats, and if they had I would have cursed them out.

Lissa was sitting in the seat next to me, and her chin-length hair reminds me of the prank war. I smile knowing the perfect way to cheer everyone up at least a little bit.

"Hey, Lissa?"

"Yeah?" She looks to me, turning the ipod in the sound system up so that we weren't overheard.

"You want to get Luka back for your hair, right?" I ask.

"Of course!" She says.

"Well, I have the perfect idea." And so I tell her a plot involving one of Iggy's bombs, a locked room, and a bottle of hair dye.

* * *

Three hours later, we decide to camp out for the night. As we're unloading the car, Gazzy walks over to me.

"Max?"

"Yeah, Gaz?" I ask.

"About earlier..."

"You know it's not your fault, right?"

"Of course. It's just... I know that I didn't put those blue berries in there. I'd never even seen them in my life. And when I told Iggy I had gotten some, I know he glanced at it. He may not remember, but I do. He would have known if there was something off."

"What's your point, Gazzy?" I ask, though I'm pretty sure I already know.

"Someone else put those berries in there. On purpose. Max, we have a traitor."

To get my mind off what Gazzy said earlier, I decide to go check out the town that's nearby for supplies. Iggy agreed to go with me, and we walk since it's so close.

There's a thick silence, both of us lost in the horrors of our minds. I think about telling Iggy Gazzy's theory, but decide not to, since it might only upset him more.

Finally, we arrive at the town. Iggy chooses a convenience store, and we enter together. We quickly take down a SLUT dressed in a manager's uniform before loading up two carts with food and drinks.

"Iggy? Would you grab some pink hair dye?" I ask.

He gives me a strange look. "Planning on dying your hair?"

"Not mine." I say with a smirk.

"Then whose?"

I explain the plan to him and he quickly agrees to help. He runs over to find the things he'll need. Suddenly, there's a loud crash and a yell from Iggy and I rush to where the noise came from. I find Iggy lying in a pile of red on the ground. Cautiously, I walk up to him.

"Iggy? You okay?"

"Yeah." He holds up a bottle of hair dye. "I hope you didn't want red." I laugh and start walking back to the food.

There's another yell, but this I don't turn around. "Not falling for it, Igs." When he doesn't reply, I do turn around.

And find Iggy perfectly fine. If you don't count the girl standing behind him with a knife against his throat.

* * *

**So. Whadya think? So, Angel and Ari kind of went on their date (I never said they'd live through it!), we had a bit of Fax, some Iggy and Max, a bit of prank war, and was that some actual PLOT? I think it was! And foreshadowing? WOW. I am awesome. I feel very accomplished with this chapter. Of course, I was threatened into writing it (You know who you are- just remember: REVENGE!), but eh. I liked it. **

**Now, I am going to express how awesome you are. You reviewers and readers are a cold glass of ice team on a hot summers day. You're my umbrella in the rain. You're the chocolate to my chip. You're- okay, enough of that. Can't even type it with a straight face...**

**Special thanks to-**

**theAngeldevilchild (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter and getting me addicted to The most popular girls in school)**

**Bradykins98 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Maximumride11446 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**StormyCloud83 (For reviewing)**

**Guest reviewer (For reviewing)**

**Fiora Braginski (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter)**

**hiddensecret564 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**rosslynchandbeyond (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Flyingwiththeflock425 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Guest reviewer (For reviewing)**

**boxtoplad999 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**MaxPercyClaryNewtLenaKatnissKy (For reviewing multiple chapters, even if they're not exactly reviews)**

**And thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or read!**

**Now, onto the stuff you really want to hear- my new book! I'm currently reading the third book in the Beautiful Creatures series, and it's ah-may-zing! **

**Review chart thingermajig!**

**10 reviews- more angst**

**15 reviews- angst mixed with finding out who new person is and some prank war!**

**20 reviews- one word- FAX! (Yeah, I know 20's a lot to be asking for, but it's fax, guys. come on.)**

**SO, I'll probably be responding to last chapter's reviews tomorrow. And this chapters. Yeah... hehe?s**

**Now, what did you think about this chapter? I think this is where everyone's starting to feel the pressure of it all. But little do they know, it's all about to get worse! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cough-cough. Yeah, don't mind me. Just thinking about all the plans I have for this story that include actual plot.**

**LOTD**

**We live like rock stars, dance on every bar**  
**This is who we are, I don't think we'll ever change**  
**They say just grow up, but they don't know us**  
**We don't give a ..., and we're never gonna change**

**I love that song! Well, except for the cursing, but whatcha gonna do?**

**QOTD**

**What is your favorite song at the moment? And... favorite animal? Oh! And who do you think the traitor is?**

**SO. In this chapter, the OCs basically dissapeared, Angel's depressed, Ari's dead (isn't his death sort of ironic? I can see the memes- Lives in zombie apocalypse, dies from poisonous berries... No?), Nudge is giving people makeovers, JJ's drugging people, Iggy is getting held at knife point and is moody, Porkchop doesn't have to kill anyone (THIS IS FOR YOU PORKCHOP), Fang is being awesome, it's probably Max's time of the month, Lissa is planning another prank with Max, Gazzy thinks there's a traitor, Brigid was only seen carrying a rope, and Sam is gone again. That everybody?**

**Well, if you have any questions of suggestions you know what to do! **

**-Random :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Guess what guys! You got your Fax! Sure, it's indirect, but isn't that better than nothing? The OC for this chapter was made by Wolf and MR Lover. I'm pretty sure we got 21 reviews since the last chapter, which is really awesome. Um, there's some prank war in the chapter, a bit of Nudge, Max, and Angel, an F.U. meeting, and you'll have to read to find out what else! Anyways, I'll save my rant for the bottom AN, so stay tuned. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Day six of the Zombie Apocalypse (cont.)**

At this point I wasn't sure whether to groan in annoyance, or jump in to help. We so did not need yet another person to drag along.

Instead I huff, and ask in an annoyed tone, "Why the fluff are you holding a knife against my friend's throat?"

The girl glanced at me, still holding the knife at Iggy's throat. "Is that really a valid question considering the circumstances?" She snarled, reluctantly rolling off my friend, but still holding the knife up; ready to strike if need be.

"No, probably not. But I tend to blurt out whatever I'm thinking at inappropriate times." I reply, shrugging.

The girl looks me up and down, trying to judge the situation. Apparently, she decides that she can't take both Iggy and me, and says, "My name is Sapphire. You are?"

I quirk an eyebrow at the sudden change in her demeanor, but say, "I'm Max, and that idiot over there is Iggy." Iggy yells out a protest, and Sapphire half smiles.

"So, where are you staying?" Iggy asks. We lock eyes, and I can tell we're thinking the same thing. Forget about food, figuring out if this girl was a threat to our friends was our biggest concern.

"Mostly traveling around. This town has a few stores left that have supplies, and I've been staying in empty houses for a while. You guys?"

"We've come from Virginia." Iggy answers, avoiding her question.

"Where are you planning on going?" She asks. "I'm not sure there's much more than this anywhere else."

Iggy shrugs. "Are you traveling with anyone else?"

She shakes her head. "No. I was, but... we both thought it was best to part ways. Is it just you two?"

I roll my eyes in irritation thinking of the F.U. club. "I wish." I muttered. Iggy smirks knowingly but doesn't say anything and Sapphire shoots us an odd look.

"How many more of you are there?" She asks suspiciously.

"Eight, or nine I think." Iggy said, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

"Ha! Where are you lugging eight more people to?" She was practically laughing in our faces at that point. As if we were just running in circles playing a game of cat and mouse we couldn't win.

"Arizona. We're going to Arizona." I snapped. "My uncle was extremely paranoid, and had enough supplies in his basement to last years. If anyone's survived, it's them, so that's where we're going."

"Cool, mind if I join in on the hunt to safety?" Sapphire asks mockingly.

"Why not? I'm sure the F.U. would love you." I told her, to which she shot me a confused look.

"Okay... I have no idea what that means, but I'm going to pretend I don't think you're on something and go with you."

As we walk out the door, Iggy mutters a "Well, she's nice." and I try to stifle my laughter.

* * *

**(3rd Person)**

The girl walked through the woods swiftly yet quietly. The last thing she needed was for someone like Max to wake up. Especially considering the fact she was the traitor Gazzy and Max were trying to find.

She made her way to the spot where the scientist had told her to go and waited impatiently for their arrival. They were always late. Sometimes by minutes, sometimes by hours. She knew they had... 'pets' that did a swift check up to see if anyone was listening in before they arrived; and lucky too, because last time Ari almost walked right in the middle of one of these meetings, which is why he had to be eliminated.

Tonight, they would tell her who had to go next. She was wary about this, but knew this was the only chance for her survival. The others would eventually abandon her, so she had to make allies in other places.

She swallowed hard as another girl came into view. She was the one they always sent first, in case something were to go wrong. The girl resembled Max, but the similarities ended there.

While Max was kind and nurturing, this girl was cruel and bloodthirsty. She had been with the scientists long before the apocalypse had started. The girl had overheard once before something about Max being the key to something, and this girl in front of her, Maya, being the one to stop and ultimately destroy Max. Because this girl lacked one thing Max had- Mercy.

She nodded to Maya in acknowledgement and Maya just scowled back and looked around, as if the girl was nothing more than an irritating fly she would soon swat off the radar.

As a group of scientists stepped into view, she got straight to the point. "So, what's my next assignment?"

The head scientist, unlike Maya he had not shared his name, stepped forward. "We have another job for you." The girl knew that 'job' was the term they liked to use when there was someone she had to get rid of.

"Who is it?" She asked, equal parts nervous and annoyed. These people could never just say what they meant.

Another scientist spoke up. "We need you to dispose of the Devin girl."

Her eyes widened briefly. She didn't ask why; she had learned better than that. But she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Devin was one of the few people she had actually liked.

"Alright." She mumbled sadly, staring down at her shoes.

"Is there a problem? Because it could always be you instead of her." Maya sneered

"No, there isn't a problem." She said fiercely, though in her heart she knew this would be a tough job. Though no matter, she still left ready to kill to come out alive.

* * *

**Day seven of the Zombie Apocalypse**

I rubbed my eyes, knowing I had to get up. Iggy and I had been working all night on 'the plan' after coming back to the camp with Sapphire. She had been accepted into the group, though some people had given Iggy and me a hard time about our decision.

I woke Lissa, JJ, and Iggy up and we set off to work. I grabbed all the supplies we would need, including the hair dye and Iggy's latest creation.

Iggy, Lissa, and I crouched in the grass near Luka's tent, watching as JJ whispered his name, asking to come in. Getting conformation, she slipped in, sending us a sly wink. There was a slight yell and then everything went quiet. I snickered as Iggy and I entered the tent to help finish the process.

When we were finished we took some pictures and admired our work before leaving Luka to sleep off his drugs. Oh what a fun time we'll have when he wakes up.

The three of us walked back to Lissa who was eagerly awaiting our return. "So? Did you do it?" She asks.

"Are you doubting the Igster, woman? Of course we did it!" Iggy answered.

"So, how upset do you think he'll be?" I ask.

**~After Luka sleeps off his drugs~**

"I'm gonna kill somebody!" Luka shouted from who knows where. I looked up from my spot around the campfire to see him glaring at his reflection on the car. "You can mess with my face! You can mess with my clothes! You can even mess with my sister! But my hair?" To put it simply, he's beyond furious.

"Hey!" Logan shouts, but is ignored by her brother.

Instead, he storms over to where we're all sitting by the fire eating breakfast. "Hey, sleeping beauty!" Iggy says cheerily. "We thought you'd never wake up."

"Cut the crap, Iggy. I know you had a part in this. And JJ! I'm hurt! How could you do this? I thought we had a connection!" Oh my god, you can not be serious! He's already getting back to normal with the usual sarcasm and joking around. I swear, nothing bothers this boy for long.

The others look up, suddenly aware of the commotion going on around them. Nudge's jaw goes slack, but Angel studies him for a minute. Then she mutters, "Still not his color." For a minute I hope that the old Angel has come back to us, but she turns back to her breakfast, pushing it around her plate.

Nudge, on the other hand, has more to say. "Oh, my gawsh! That is hilarious! Why was I not let in on this? I could have at least gotten a pink that matched his skin tone-"

"Excuse me? Listen Honey, I rock anything you put on all this." Luka motioned to himself in a cocky manner. "It may not be my color, but it will be by the time it's finished!" He exclaimed in a valley-girl accent doing the whole Z-snap thing with his hip jutted out to one side and his hand on his hip.

Nudge just raises an eyebrow at him. "You did not just interrupt my rant. No one interrupts the rant. Anyways, you really need a lesson in cosmetology, Max. See, he's way too tan for that pink. I can't believe I'm stuck with such an un-educated group of people! Angel's the only one out of all of you that has any sense of style. And yes that includes you, Lissa. I'm sorry, but that skirt is just not working on you. And Brigid, don't even get me started on that sweater. Just no. Burn that thing."

"Um excuse me! This is all about me! I'm the one who has pink hair!" Luka snapped his fingers in Nudge's face and she glared at him, but I guess she knew not to try anything since after all he had lived out in the wild for a long time or else she would've pounced.

"Oh, it's on Rainbow boy." She snarled.

"Was that a fancy way of calling me gay?" He growled.

" Pretty much!" Nudge challenged.

Luka snorted. "Well is this gay?" He asked and yanked me up and kissed me roughly. I froze, too stunned to do anything. Okay, so this funny, weird, annoying guy is kissing me, but I like Fang. Does that mean he likes me? Or does that mean he's just doing this to show Nudge how much of a straight person he can be?

Well my confusion didn't last long because in no time Luka was off of me, down on the ground, and being punched ruthlessly by... Fang?

"Fang! Stop!" I demanded, but he seemed too intent on destroying Luka's face to listen. Though Luka did manage to fight Fang off long enough to stand and run. Fang looked like he was about to take off after him but I grabbed his arm. "Fang, don't hurt him." I whispered and slowly I watched him wind down back into his old self.

"Okay, sorry." Fang mumbled. "I don't know what... I mean I-"

"It's okay." I interrupted, squeezing his hand before turning back to everyone. JJ was sitting quite rigid compared to her usual slouched posture, along with Devin.

"I'm gonna go find him." They said at the same time, then turned to each other, glaring daggers.

"I'm the one who's trained for the Zombie Apocalypse. Last I checked you've been isolated from the real world for a decade!" She shrieked very un-JJ-like, before standing up and leaving, giving Devin absolutely no time to defend herself.

All of a sudden, Iggy stands up and charges over to Fang. He swings his arm back, punching Fang in the nose.

As Fang's nose started gushing blood, he yelled "Dude!"

"Iggy!" I exclaimed as my eyes widened. "What the heck was that for?"

He just shrugs. "Everyone else was getting into fights. I thought I'd join in." I roll my eyes as Logan, our new doctor, goes to get the first aid kit for Fang.

* * *

Later that day, Angel, Nudge, and I are roasting marshmallows over the fire. The others had left to go in the woods to try to find any supplies, leaving the three of us to guard the camp.

"You know, Ari always loved roasting marshmallows..." Angel says wistfully.

"Oh, sweetie." Nudge mutters, moving closer to Angel. "Do you want to talk about it at all?"

Angel just shrugs, still not meeting our eyes. "I don't really see anything to talk about. He didn't die violently, didn't have time to turn, and I got to spend his last moments with him. I'm actually pretty lucky." Angel's voice betrays her, as her voice cracks at the end of her sentence.

"Angel, I know it's hard. But they wouldn't want us to cry over them." I say. "They'd want us to fight for them. Ella would want us to take out as many zombies as we can-"

"And give as many makeovers as we can." Nudge adds.

"And give as many makeovers as we can." I repeat. "And Ari would want you to be happy and find out who did this to him."

Angel finally looks up, teary eyed but curious. "I thought Gazzy accidentally put the berries in?"

Oh, fudge. Neither Gazzy nor I had told anyone of the traitor; we thought it would just make it harder to find the person. But Angel and Nudge could be trusted. And Angel deserved to know.

"Gazzy... well, Gazzy and I think that someone else put the berries in. He's sure that he'd never seen those before, and Iggy had check the berries, if only briefly."

Angel gasps, but now there's a fire in her eyes. She's not going to rest until she finds who did this to Ari. "What are you doing to find them? I want in."

"Me too! Nobody can frame my Gazzy and get away with it!" At our strange looks, she says, "I mean, Gazzy! I don't own Gazzy, of course! It's not like I secretly have crushed majorly on him since the day I met him or anything like that."

"Yeah, right Nudge. We both know that you're desperately in love with Gazzy!" Angel says.

"Now, hold on, I wouldn't say in love..." Nudge denies.

"Oh, come on! You said he rated above Taylor Lautner on the hotness scale. Even if he wasn't my brother, he isn't even half as hot as Taylor!" Angel says, and it seems as if she's close to being back to her normal self.

* * *

~A couple hours Later~

Nudge gasped from where she sat beside me reading her magazine. "Oh, my god! How could I forget? We need to give Saph the FU welcome!"

I raise my eyebrows. "Saph?"

"Yeah. Sapphire is just way too long. Saph is short and sweet. Though that girl is anything but sweet. You know what I heard? She killed a man... With her pinkie!"

I look over at Sapphire, who rolls her eyes at me. Nudge isn't done yet though. "Anyways, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you know Interrupting people is very rude Max, where was I... OH! So, we need to go get the other girls. You can get them, Max." She waves me on, and I gesture around the campfire, where all the other girls were sitting.

"Whoa! When did you guys get there?" Nudge asks.

" We've been here, Nudge. You've just been too busy talking to notice us." JJ sneered, irritated.

"Don't mind her, Nudge. She doesn't know what she's talking about." Devin says.

They're glaring at each other when Angel says, "Okay, this meeting of the F.U. is now started."

"Hey! That's my line!" Nudge exclaims.

"Yeah, yeah. So, what are we doing at this meeting, Nudge?" Angel replies.

"First, I would like to introduce our newest member, Saph."

"Wait, I never joined any-" Sapphire starts, but Nudge cuts her off.

"Next, we need to discuss this feud between you two." She points to JJ and Devin. "Evan and I both like Gazzy, but you don't see us fighting, do you?"

"We're not fighting!" Devin argues sounding just as irritated as JJ was earlier.

"Look, it's always been chicks before di-"

"Max! Find another saying that's more appropriate!" Nudge interrupts, glaring me down. I just shrug. "Well it's true."

"So, if Fang and I were both dangling above a lava pit you would save me and let Fang fall to his doom?" Lissa asked, speaking up. I went quiet for a minute, thinking.

"Well you are pretty annoying." I joked, to which she rolled her eyes.

"With that being said, why don't you just see who has the most in common with Pinky?" Brigid suggests.

"Or we could do rock, paper, scissors!" Angel chimes in.

"How about some 'friendly' competitions to decide?" I asked, smirking just at the thought. JJ grinned evilly.

"I'm with Max on this!" She calls out, to which Devin groans.

"Of course you are." She mutters.

"What's that supposed to mean?" JJ snaps.

"Oh, nothing." Cough. "Suck-up!" Cough.

"Excuse me?" JJ hops to her feet, looking ready to throw a punch or two, along with Devin, who is raising her fist up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Sit back down!" I growled, sprinting to get in between them. They both shoot each other death glares before grumbling to themselves and taking their seats as far away from one another as possible.

"Max! I was watching that!" Nudge yells, then leans over to Angel. "I swear, this is better than the Jersey Shore. Man, I really miss that show."

"I miss TV in general." Lissa states.

"I miss my mom's chocolate chip cookies." I say. "Man, what I wouldn't give for one of those." At that everyone chuckled and just a little bit of normality drizzled in if only for the moment.

Eventually, though, Nudge decides we've taken a long enough break. "Onto the next matter of business. As most of you know, the original purpose of this club was to get Max and Fang together. Though we are widening our goals, Angel and I both have agreed that we shouldn't stray too far from our first ideas. So, to avoid conflict, we will not be trying to get anyone besides the two of them together until there is a person that only one girl likes. Agreed?"

I cry out in protest. "Uh, no! Nudge, I'm not sure if you've realized this, but I don't want to be set up with some guy that I barely know. And besides that, if I want to be with a guy, I want to do it on my terms, not a club's. So, I'd appreciate it if you would take a break from this whole 'Fax forever' thing."

"Wait, how did you know we called you two Fax?" Nudge asks.

I roll my eyes, getting up and walking away before I say something I'll regret later.

* * *

(3rd person)

Little did Max know, the F.U. meeting continues on, even after she left.

"So. That didn't exactly go as planned, did it?" Nudge asks.

"Ya think?" Angel says sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. We just need to go at this a different way." JJ says optimistically.

"Oh, yeah? Well, how do you suppose we do that, since you have all the answers?" Devin asks snarkily, still upset about earlier.

"I'm not saying I have all the answers, Devin. I'm just trying to find a solution. Can we just focus on Max right now?"

Devin takes a deep breath, but eventually relents. "Fine. But don't think this means I'm giving up."

" Wouldn't think about it..." JJ mutters. "I think we've been going about this the wrong way. Max isn't going to want us to watch her dates, or even set her up-"

"Wait, but what's the point of the club then?! Fax was our OTP! One true pairing for you non-internet savvy folks. And, yes Devin, I am talking to you. But at least your fashion sense somewhat makes up for it. Oh, my god. Brigid, I thought I told you to burn that!"

"Okay, Nudge!" Angel shouts. "Can we please get back to the point?"

"Thanks, Ange. So, as I was saying, we can't set her up," Nudge opens her mouth, but JJ continues on before Nudge can get a word in. "Unless she doesn't know about it. From now on, the rules of covert operations apply to getting Max and Fang together."

"Wait, but we don't know how to be spies!" Brigid says.

"Oh, it's easy! Once you learn the basics, you'll be fine." Evan says. At the others' looks, she says sheepishly, "I went to spy camp over the summer..."

"Okaaay. From now on, we'll have to meet without Max for the majority of meetings. We'll have to invite her to some, so she doesn't get suspicious. Everyone got it?"

The girls nod and all of them stand up, scattering around the camp, leaving Nudge sitting on a log. The mocha skinned girl stares at the burning embers of the fire and mutters, "I should really just burn it for her."

* * *

Later that night, after everyone was asleep, a boy crept out of his tent and into another. Pulling our two bags of clothes, he lit a small fire. Big enough for what he was planning, yet small enough not to attract any SLUTS.

Taking out all of the clothes from the bag, he lit them on fire one by one. When each and every one was reduced to a pile of charred, blackened fabric, or ashes even, he moved on to his next task.

The boy randomly dumped all of the backpack's supplies around the camp. A toothbrush up in a tree, some food along the path that the cars had come in, until all of his victim's things were missing. When both packs were empty, he flung them over his shoulder, not bothering to watch where they landed.

Finally, he started dragging the air mattress that held the victim, out of the tent. A few times, he had to stop to make sure that the girl would not wake up, but he soon realized that, unlike himself, this girl was not a light sleeper. Exactly the opposite actually. She even snored!

Earlier in the planning, he had contemplated taking all of the girl's clothes, even the ones she was wearing, but he had settled on all of her other possessions. He was going to be in enough trouble as it was, better not to have a practically naked JJ trying to kill him. Well, that might not be that bad... No, what he was doing was good enough.

Once he had gotten the air mattress to the edge of the lake he took a brief break to catch his breath. As soon as JJ woke up, he would have to run, or else who knows what could happen. It was probably best not to think about it.

A few minutes later, he set the mattress adrift. Judging by the girl's weight, she wouldn't sink for a while. Of course, she would wake up before that happened, since the water was ice cold.

At first, the boy had worried that JJ might drown. But then he had overheard Max telling Sapphire what an amazing swimmer JJ was when the other girl had asked if everyone knew how to swim.

His plan set in action, he climbed back in his tent, ready to get a good night's sleep before he got mauled the next day.

* * *

**Eh, eh? What do you think? Well, if you like it, you can thank VampireRide, because we worked on this together. Round of applause people! So, I think I'm getting better with updates. What do you guys think? I'm liking this chapter, but I usually say that so eh. **

**OH! So, I got a review and before I continue and whatever I wanted to say something about it. Now, don't go thinking that I got my first flame and am all upset or anything. Because that's not what happened. The reviewer said that the makeovers, and the way I was setting Max and Fang up through the F.U. was stupid. I can see where they're coming from, so I wanted your guys' opinion. I think that the Fax isn't the dates and stuff. The F.U. is trying to get together, but each time there isn't any real Fax. The Fax is when the F.U. has no involvement whatsoever. And as for the makeovers, I think that's how Nudge and the others are coping. **

**Of course, this could just be me thinking this way, so you tell me. But whatever. **

**SO. Onto the thank yous! **

**Special thanks to-**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Fang Beilshmidts (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Maximumride11446 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**NeonEnigma88 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**Don'tDisTheSonic (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- ImmortalUnicorn (Loved your review!)**

**fellsworth99 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**The Winged Nyan (For reviewing the chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- (For reviewing the chapter)**

**MaxPercyClaryNewtLenaKatnissKy (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**theAngeldevilchild (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Guest reviewer- (For reviewing the chapter; lol loved the review!)**

**Guest reviewer- freedomnija14 (For reviewing the chapter; do you see where I'm coming from now?)**

**purplepeyton (For reviewing the chapter)**

**And everyone else who favorited, followed, or read! I'm pretty sure I responded to all of last chapter's reviews, but I've given up with previous chapters. From now on, if you review I will get back to you!**

**SO. What did you think about the traitor? Surprisingly, no one guessed who it actually was. And what do you think of the OC? And Angel's back! If anyone has any ideas or anything for the story, feel free to pm me or you can always... ya know review!**

**LOTD-**

**With your face and the beautiful eyes**  
**And the conversation with the little white lies**  
**And the faded picture of a beautiful night**  
**You carry me from your car to the stairs**  
**And I broke down crying, was she worth this mess?**  
**After everything and that little black dress**  
**After everything I must confess, I need you**

**QOTD-**

**Have any of you read the Beautiful Creatures series? I'm pretty sure it's actually called the Caster Chronicles, but whatever. And... what is the word that you always spell wrong?**

**SO. In this chapter, you meet Saph who killed a man... with her pinkie!, Sam's still gone, Luka's sexuality is getting questioned, JJ and Devin are in a catfight, there's a traitor in the midst, Nudge, Angel, and Max have a heart to heart, the F.U. is going incognito, Fang's either jelly or cra-cra, Iggy wants to be part of the fight, Lissa's prank worked, Gazzy hasn't killed a person, Brigid needs to burn that thing, Logan is gone, Evan is also gone, and that's everyone! I'm pretty sure... **

**There's beautiful review button down there! Remember, reviews are my bacon!**

**-Random :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! You know, I'm not even sure how many reviews we got for this! One... two... three... twenty-six! If I'm right, and I usually am, that's the most we've got so far! *Does weird, awkward cabbage patch***

**Anyways. I would like to thank VampireRide for writing the Fax scene in this (because we all know that I am horrible at writing those things) and the OC in this chapter is The Winged Nyan. Thank you both!**

**Now. I am going to get a tad bit mushy here. I want to thank all of you guys who have reviewed, favorited, and followed. My goal for this story was to get 100 reviews, and we have 150 right now! Thank all of you who reviewed the first few chapters (which were kind of sucky even when I had help from amazing writers), have been ignoring my plot holes, and have dealt with my insanely long ANs! Love you guys. (In a non-creepy, friend who doesn't know you way)**

* * *

**Day eight of the Zombie Apocalypse**

Going to bed last night had been brutal, thoughts of the traitor, Ella, and surviving plaguing my thoughts until I fell asleep. That's why, when I'm awoken by a gigantic splash and a yelp, I'm not exactly happy.

Nudge, of course, is bounding out of the tent, ready to help- or at least catch the latest gossip. I roll my eyes at her back, before trudging out of the semi-warm tent into the cool morning air.

Walking over to where everyone else is surrounding the lake that we were staying near, I finally see what the commotion is.

Out in the middle of the lake, JJ's inflatable air mattress is slowly floating farther and farther away. I quickly spot JJ swimming back to shore, though she's got a ways to go.

One look around the group and you can instantly tell who did it. Luka is grinning from ear to ear, looking ready to bolt at the same time, while everyone else is either concerned trying to hide their laughter.

"Dude, if I were you, I'd be gone already. As soon as JJ changes, she'll be tracking you down." I say to him.

This just causes his smile to grow wider. "She won't exactly be able to change." He implies, with a nod towards the fire that is now reduced to embers.

I gasp. "You burned her clothes?" He nods, and I continue. "And you're still here? Man, you're stupider than I thought. You better get going Rainbow boy, before she gets back."

He grins one last time, before sprinting into the woods. "What was that about?" Nudge asks, the need for gossip overpowering the want to rant.

"Luka burned her clothes." I say cautiously, worried this might set her off.

Her smile seems off for a minute, before she starts the- inevitable- rant. "This is a code aquamarine! Everyone, enact proper protocol for this situation." When all she gets is blank stares she glares at the group. "Seriously? I expected this from the guys, heck, I even expected this from Max. But you guys? All the members of the F.U. were supposed to read a copy of the handbook! Angel, you made that thing, how could you not know what code aquamarine is?"

"Nudge, you made me put in over fifty codes, each with... unique colors to go along with them. How is anybody supposed to remember them all?"

Nudge lets out an exaggerated sigh. "It's called flashcards people. What do you think I did all Thanksgiving vacation? But, whatever. I'll let it pass, this once, but I want you guys to know all the codes by the end of the week. Just go get some of the spare clothes." She sits down at a log, as if suddenly tired, and puts her head in her hands. I think I hear her mumble, "Where did I go wrong?" but I can't be sure.

I wait for JJ as she slowly swims back in. As she steps onto the rocky area that serves a beach, I can feel her anger radiating off of her. "I'm gonna kill that motherfluffin, son of a female dog! Where is he?!" She shouts.

"Oh, I told him to run into the woods before you mauled him. Now, about your clothes..."

"Max, you can't exactly judge my fashion sense when you don't even have one." JJ says when I trail off.

"Uh, no, that's not what I was going to say, but thank you so much." I flash her an irritated look. "Might as well peel off the band-aid. JJ, Luka threw all of your stuff in the woods and burned your clothes. There."

I give her a moment to let that sink in. She surprises me when she smiles. "I'm sorry, Max. I must have heard you wrong. You couldn't have said that Luka burned my clothes, because if he did that, he'd already be dead."

"Don't forget the throwing your stuff in the woods part." Sam calls from where he's standing near the tents. At first, I'm a bit taken aback, because... well, truthfully I had forgotten he was here. It's not like he talks at all.

Apparently JJ feels the same way. "Oh, uh, hey Sam! What's up?"

"Oh, you know. Fighting zombies, people dying all around me, the usual." He shrugs casually, but the act's broken when he grins.

"Hey, you wanna help me kill Luka?" JJ asks eagerly.

Sam thinks about it for a minute. "I'd love to, but... If I killed him, I don't think his sister would like me very much."

"Ooh! Sam and Logan sitting in a zombie infested tree! K-I-L-L-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes... running for your life, then comes a zombie in a baby carriage!" JJ sings, only stopping for a few seconds in the middle of it.

"Shout it out to the whole world, why don't ya?" Sam mutters, blushing slightly.

"Okay! Hey, everyone! Sam's got something to- mph!" JJ's cut off by Sam's hand over her mouth, and him fiercely whispering for her to shut up.

Unfortunately, though, he's not quick enough. Nudge comes bounding over, Angel behind her. "I heard something about an announcement?" Angel says, looking expectantly up at Sam.

"Um, yeah... I was going to say that, um," His face lights up, as if suddenly struck by inspiration. "I want in on the next prank!"

Nudge looks disappointed. "Oh. Okay." Then she smirks up at him. "I just thought that you were going to say something about liking a certain blonde. Wink wink!" Nudge finishes with a wink.

JJ looks at her funny. "You know that you don't have to say 'wink wink' when you wink, right?"

"Of course you do. How else would a blind person know you were winking?" Nudge asks.

JJ closes her eyes for a minute and takes a deep breath. "Nudge... you know there aren't any blind people in camp, right?"

"Yeah, what do you think I am, an idiot? No, I'm practising for when I meet a blind person."

"I don't think there's really going to be many blind people left, Nudge." Angel says.

"What do you- oh. Ohhhh. OH! That's so mean! Why would you say that?!"

Angel shrugs. "It's true."

"I know, but-ugh! I see you smiling, Max! You people..." I can't hear the rest of Nudge's sentence as she storms away.

Once Sam thinks that Nudge won't be able to hear, he says, "Gee, thanks JJ. That would have been an embarrassing conversation. Not to mention the fact that the whole camp would know that I have a thing for Logan by the end of the day."

Apparently, Nudge isn't far enough away, as she suddenly stops, turns around slowly, and then runs back towards us. "I knew it! I knew it!" She shrieks, jumping up and down. "What did I tell you, Ange? Sam likes Logan, that's what I told you. Now pay up- you owe me five dollars!"

"What are you going to do with five dollars? It's not like there's still a currency system. You can take whatever you want now!" I say. Looking back, it probably wasn't my best piece of advice, but once it's out there you can't take it back.

Nudge gets a glint in her eyes as she pulls Angel away, muttering "Come on, Angel. We've got something to do..."

Later that day, after loading up the cars and having one last meal, we set off into the woods to do one last check for any food. Our supplies had started running low, so until we could find a town, we were scavengers.

About half a mile away from camp, Iggy suddenly stops walking. "Guys... Do you hear that?"

We all stop and listen for a minute, before JJ says, "Iggy, I don't-"

"Shh. It sounds like... moaning." Iggy and I look at each other at the same time, and we both know that it means zombies.

We wait in the clearing for a moment, looking around, waiting to see where they were coming from.

Three minutes and thirty six seconds later, when there's no sign of any threat besides collective low moan, we start arguing about what to do.

"We should head back. Get out of here." Iggy says, glancing around us.

"I agree with Iggy." Lissa says, and Brigid nods her head.

"No, I think we should investigate this. If it's not us they're after, then it could be someone else."

"Wouldn't we hear them getting closer or farther away?" Nudge asks.

"Maybe they're not hunting anything at all. Some types of zombies don't move until they catch sight of prey." Gazzy says.

"Gazzy's right. We-" I start, but am interrupted. Surprisingly, it isn't Nudge who starts to talk.

"No he's not." Brigid says. All head turn to her, either in surprise or skepticism. "I've been... observing, for lack of a better word, the zombies."

"What do you mean?" Angel asks.

"I've been looking at some of the journals that Devin's dad had left, and making one of my own. From what I've seen and what I've read, these zombies are more like nomads than what Gazzy's describing."

"Oh, really? Well, enlighten us on how you've been observing these zombies." Gazzy says.

"Well, I've been running some tests. Lissa's helped me with some of them..." Brigid begins suddenly nervous.

"Well, get on with it. Are we going to die if we stay here or not?" Sam asks.

Brigid gives him a look, but continues. "Well, Devin's dad seems to think that zombies will chase anything that comes in their vision. If it sees a human, an animal crosses its path, or even if a branch falls, they'll chase after it. But he also says that they're not dormant."

"And what do you think?" I ask.

"After running a few tests and careful observation, it seems like he was right. They won't eat anything but human flesh though. Of course, to get proper results, I'd have to try this a few more times, but I haven't really had time..." She trails off.

"What else is in those books?" Logan asks, intrigued.

"Not much. There's a bit on how to defend yourself, but most of it's nonsense. I'm pretty sure he was suffering from a mental breakdown. Of course, he does give random bits of gold, so I'm not giving up yet."

"Would you mind letting me take a look at them. And maybe doing some of the experiments with you?" Logan asks.

"Of course not. You probably know more about this than I do."

Logan's about to respond when I cut her off. "Okay, we'll save the heartwarming doctor bonding crap for later. Right now we need to find out where that sound's coming from."

We continue walking, silently, as the moans get louder and louder. When they're almost deafening, Fang nudges me. I look at him questioningly, opening my mouth, when he puts a finger over his lips. He points up, and I know why he wanted me to be quiet.

High above us, up in the treetops, is a tree house It's much bigger, higher, and looks even sturdier than the one Fang built what feels like years ago. I can't see inside of it, but from the extra shadow moving on the ground, I can tell there is someone up there. The question is, how do we get up there.

Judging by how loud the moaning is here, the person must have heard it and might even have had something to do with it. I don't know what type of sadistic person would be able to live so close to the sound of the undead, but I'm going to find out soon.

Fang points up again, this time to a tree right next to the tree house. The branches between the two would be too wide a gap for an uncoordinated zombie, but for a person? It's doable, which will have to be enough.

Fang begins climbing the tree, since he's the only one of us who would be able to climb that high. He disappears over the edge of the house, and I hear shouting. Luckily, I don't hear any fighting, because I have no idea what or who Fang is up against.

Only a few minutes later, Fang peeks his head over the edge, and gestures for us to come closer. A second later, a hatch opens and a ladder drops down. I make sure the others get up safely before I climb up myself.

When I finally see the inside of the tree house, I can understand why the others are gaping like fish. What we had thought was just a tree house, looked more like an apartment. There's a small 'kitchen', it's really just a table, some wooded counters and shelves, and a basin of water, with fruits and vegetables from a garden in milk cartons next to it. Next to that is what looks like a living room, with plastic beach chairs and a pile of books. There's also a small cot off to the side, with a giant pile of pillows and blankets on top of it. For a moment I wonder how she got all of this up here, until I notice the pulley system near the kitchen.

"Wow." I hear Nudge breath out. And she's right. The tree house is awesome, but what's better is the view. You can see miles and miles of forest, and I can find at least a dozen escape routes if needed.

Suddenly, I notice the owner of the house. There's a girl, and she looks a bit younger than us, maybe fourteen. Her mousy brown hair is pulled up in a poofy ponytail, and her tattered jeans and long sleeve shirt are covered by a thick coat.

"This is so awesome! You live here? Omg, did you build it?! That would be totally cool. Max, Max! We should get a tree house Please Max, pleeeease?" Nudge blabbers on.

"Um, no." I say, before she starts again.

"Oh! Hi! I'm Nudge. You are?"

"Anna." She mutters, looking down.

"So, how long have you been living here?" Saph asks.

"I can't really remember how long. When did this whole thing start?"

"Eight days." Iggy says.

"So, about six. But this was here from before the first night. My dad, brother, and I had built it together."

"Where are they now?" Nudge asks, curious, but not rudely.

"Oh, my parents were... attacked. My brother was taken by the National Guard while they were trying to evacuate the city."

"You didn't go?" Lissa asks, oblivious to Anna's rapidly decreasing mood.

"No," She sighs. "They were only taking children twelve and under at the time, and were going to be taking the teens the next week. But they never got a chance to..."

Before anyone else can ask another rude question, Iggy groans and covers his ears. "Ugh, what is that moaning? It's giving me a headache." It doesn't seem to be bothering anyone else, but Iggy has always had superb hearing.

Anna takes a moment to answer, moving over to the kitchen. "It is pretty loud. Tea?" She asks, holding up a few tea bags. Nudge and Lissa nod their heads, the rest of us declining. "You get used to it after a while though." She lights a small fire in the fireplace, and hangs a kettle over it.

"What is it?" Sam asks.

Anna glances towards the tea nervously. "Oh, look. It's done." She walks back towards the steaming kettle, pouring the water into three glass mugs. She puts tea bags in and waits for them to cool, tapping her finger to a song only she can hear.

I'm about to speak up when she says, "I'll show you."

She agrees to take us while the tea's cooling, and we begin our descent back down the ladder. We walk until the sound is insufferable.

We come to the edge of a pit covered by a tarp. I try to prepare myself for whatever is under there, but I could never prepare myself for what I saw. Even if part of me already knew.

Anna peels back the tarp, and the moans get louder as it reveals almost a thousand zombies.

"Oh. My. God." I hear Nudge whisper. For once, she's speechless. I start to pull out my weapons and see the others doing the same. Just as I'm about to go for a zombie clawing it's way up the pit, Anna jumps in front of us.

"No! You can't hurt them!" She shouts.

"Why the hot dog not?!" JJ yells back.

"Because, they may not look like it, but they're still people!"

"This is episode seven, season two of the Walking Dead all over again..." I hear Gazzy mutter.

"Those things aren't people! They're monsters." Iggy states fiercely.

"I know that it's hard to believe, but the souls are still in there somewhere. I won't let you kill them, without going through me first."

"Gladly." JJ says, but I push her back.

"It looks like someone already beat us to it." I say, pointing to a few of the zombies. "Look, those look even worse than the others. Some are missing limbs, but those ones are gruesome."

The others see what I'm saying. "What do you mean? Who would hurt them?" Anna asks.

"I don't know. Is this how many you usually have?" I question.

"Sometimes one or two go missing, but they always come back, so I haven't really worried about it."

"Do they come back in better or worse condition?" Logan asks.

"It usually depends. Some of them come back real bad, but some of them come back with barely a scratch."

"Would you mind showing me which ones leave?" Logan asks as Brigid steps up next to her.

"Of course. Come over here." As the three of them talk, a plan forms in my mind, one to find out who did this and where they were taking the zombies.

Later that night, after I had talked with Iggy, JJ, and Fang, as we're all laying on the tree house floor in our sleeping bags, thoughts of leaving long forgotten, I explain my plan to the others.

"You said they've come every three days since this started, right Anna?" At her nod, I continue. "So, they'll be coming tomorrow night. We're going to hide out, and follow them to see where they're going and what they're doing with the zombies."

"Angel, Nudge, and Lissa, you two will be on car duty. If we need a quick getaway, you'll have to have the cars ready. That means packed, on, and ready to drive. We'll walkie talkie you when you have to turn the cars on." Iggy says.

"Gazzy, you and Iggy will be on bomb duty. We'll need a lot, so tomorrow you'll be making them." JJ states.

"Anna, I want you and Brigid to stay here. You'll have to map out escape routes in case we're being followed. The rest of you, you guys will be training. We don't know what we're going to be facing, so we've got to be prepared." I finish.

I watch as the others drift into sleep, wishing I could do the same. Unfortunately, I was on first watch, along with Fang.

I couldn't help but to keep shooting glances at Fang. This wasn't the first time we were on watch together by any means, and a part of me hoped it would never be the last. But... could it be him? He's got a backpack full of killing machines and he could easily hide his emotions from us. 'Maybe it's better to keep my distance' I thought grudgingly as I paced.

"Hey Max, you okay?" His voice was full of so much concern it made me shiver slightly as I spun to look at him.

"Fine." I growled, before turning my back on him to walk away.

**"**Look, I know this is a really tense time, but you don't have to shut me out. I swear I'm not a killer- unless it's SLUTs." Fang added, wrapping his strong arms around my waist and pulling me back against him. Beside myself, I sighed. Completely content to fall into him, killer or not.

"How can I know that?" I asked, trying to pull my dignity together and pull away from him.

"Because Max, you know me." He whispered, his hot breath on my neck. Okay, so maybe I can't pull my dignity together right now. Maybe later.

"Do I?" I snapped, squirming slightly, but not trying to get away from him.

"Of course you do." Fang spun me around to look at him, his signature smirk signed on his face. "I'm the same old Fang I was in the Principal's office just two weeks ago." As if on cue the world began to melt around me as I stared into those midnight orbs. 'He's not lying' I told myself, sighing quietly. 'At least, I hope he's not.'

Fang's hand pushed some of my hair out of my face and he caressed my cheeks, the smirk melting into an almost smile. "You know, Max, I've always had a crush on you." He told me, and I just closed my eyes. Wishing this was a dream, or maybe not. I've been pulled in so many directions lately I just don't know.

"That's cute." I mumbled as his free hand intertwined with mine.

"Why don't you get some rest, Hotshot? I'll still be here protecting you when you wake up." Fang whispered, and I could feel his nose pressed against mine. I forced my eyes open to look at him, and found myself smiling weakly.

"Alright." I mumbled. Fang kissed my forehead gently and let my hand slip away from his. I immediately felt a fresh breeze that I just didn't want to feel, and part of me begged to curl into Fang and stay there forever, safe and sound. However, I'm the leader, and I don't get to be safe. So for now, I went to rest, because Lord knows I'll need it.

* * *

**First off, asdfghjkl;. I mean, seriously, how cute was that?! Another round of applause for VampireRide!**

**So, as I said up top, thank you! Sooo, do ya like it? The update came pretty early, in my opinion, thanks to some awesome people- my reviewers!**

**SO. Guess what- I'M CO-WRITING A STORY! I think it's awesome, but that might just be me. Who am I kidding? It is awesome. It's not on my account, it's on VampireRide's. Go read and review people! And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not afraid to beg for reviews.**

**Thank you time!**

**Special thanks to-**

**Don'tDisTheSonic (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- Roar ima kitten (For reviewing the chapter; lol, yeah!)**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- GODEATERBURST (For reviewing the chapter; I'd love to put your OC in the chapter, but to get her in, you have to win the LOTD. That means you have to know the song, and get it right first. Hope to see you again and put her in!)**

**MaxPercyClaryNewtLenaKatnissKy (For reviewing every chapter)**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Maximumride11446 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**JaymaAllyssa14 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**SamDaRomanticWriter (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Bradykins98 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Guest reviewer- Guest (For reviewing the chapter; Loved your review! Hope you liked this one!)**

**Maximumride11446 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**purplepeyton (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**BlazeStar4163 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**MusicAnonymous (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Flygrrl (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- mm151 (For reviewing the chapter; I wasn't planning on killing any of them for a while)**

**VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter, and everything else you do)**

**And everyone else who favorited, followed, or read! I'm pretty sure I responded to all of last chapter's reviews, which is a major accomplishment for me!**

**LOTD-**

**One, two, three, four**

**Don't leave me tongue tied**

**Let's stay up all night**

**I'll get real high**

**Slumber party; pillow fight**

**My eyes on your eyes**

**Like Peter Pan up in the sky**

**My best friend's house tonight**

**Let's bump the beats till beddy-bye**

**QOTD-**

**Have any of you ever watched the Halloween movies? With Micheal Myers? Or what about Nightmare on Elm Street? Saw? The Shining?**

**SO. In this chapter you asdfghjkl; at the Fax, Sam makes an appearance and is crushing on Logan, Brigid and Logan bond over sciencey stuff, Lissa is going to be driving, Nudge and Angel are the group's gossip girls, JJ got pranked, Luka ran off into the woods and may not have come back, Anna has a pit full of zombies, Evan and Devin are non-existent, Gazzy and Iggy are going to make some bombs, Sapphire talked once at most, and I'm pretty sure that's everyone!**

**Well, I'm too tired to babble on any longer. A first, I know. Remember to review! Reviews are my... Magnus Bane in all his glittery glory! Plus, you'll get your name on the list!**

**-Random :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, guys! How y'all doing tonight? (Do you like my county comedian thing? Fabulous, I know.)**

**Anyways, I want to say thanks to everyone! I loved reading all your reviews. Do you realize how awesome you are? Last chapter, I began with saying how we had 150 reviews. Now we have 173. We got the most reviews we've gotten for one chapter so far- 21. Usually I count in the reviews for other chapters in the total, but this is just for chapter 13, which is awesome. Now, I'm going to keep this short, because you're going to like this chapter. OH! Since I'm backed up on OC's, this is going to be our last LOTD for a while. So, this is your chance to get an OC in! And as for ****JJ vs. Luka: Prank War Edition**** (I'm in the process of getting that trademarked)- it's being put on hold. The next few chapters are going to be really busy. They've got actual ****_action_**** and ****_plot_****.**

**_Plot_****. Strange for this story, I know.**

**Anyways, I think you'll like this chapter a lot. The winner of the OC is BlazeStar4163. Good job! You're OC isn't going to be in this chapter, because I'm backed up on putting them in, and am not putting one in this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Day nine of the Zombie Apocalypse**

I check my watch for the fortieth time. It's after midnight, but we still haven't seen a single person come near the pit.

Pacing back and forth, I ask Anna over a walkie talkie, "Are you sure that they're coming tonight? Because-" I turn around, and am about to pace in the other direction, when I see something move near the pit. "Nevermind..." I mutter into the walkie talkie, sticking it into my pocket.

I crouch down in my hiding spot, and see the others do the same from across the pit. We watch as a figure, by their height and structure I guess that the person is male, hooks a rope around a zombie's neck, and leads it out of the pit. I start getting anxious as more and more men come and carry away zombies, until there are about eight each dragging a zombie by a rope on it's neck. When they're receding back into the shadows, I look at JJ and she nods.

We follow the men from a distance, stopping when they stop, merging into the trees when they look back. It goes on like this for thirty minutes, until they tie the zombies that they're holding to trees and keep walking. As we pass the trees, I notice that more people must be in on this, seeing as they're are at least a dozen more zombies tied to the other trees.

The zombies reach for me, and I quickly pick up my pace. The men reach the edge of the forest, but they don't stop walking. JJ, who took up the lead, motions for us to stop walking. Concealed behind the trees, we watch as the men speak to an armed guard standing outside a warehouse. They show him something, and he lets them in. The guard looks around once, before following them inside.

"Should we follow them?" Logan says loudly, forgetting to whisper.

JJ and I turn around and shush her at the same time. Then, in a gentler tone, I say, "Yes, we're going to follow them."

Then we scurry across the clearing, trying to make it to the building as fast as possible. We huddle under a window on the side of the building, and I peek my head over.

Torches are hung around the room, orange flames casting a dim glow around the room. The inside of the building is only a fraction lighter than it is outside, where the moon shines brightly shedding it's light on everything, including us. The room would be almost empty if not for the thirty men surrounding something that's blocked from my view. This is the most people I've seen since the apocalypse started, which isn't saying much since I haven't seen that many people. All of the men have almost the same structure as the ones we saw on the trail, big and broad shouldered some sporting beards others seemingly clean shaven.

When two men move, I can see what they're all surrounding. A large, seven feet high, metal cage sits above a raised platform. Much like a wrestling cage, this has a door that can only be opened from the outside. I don't have time to wonder what all this is for when, suddenly, the two men that had moved from in front of the cage reach the door.

I quickly duck down, and gesture for the others to do the same. But they don't walk this way, instead heading towards where we had come from. Once they walk into the woods, I can't see them anymore, but a few minutes later they both come out dragging zombies behind them.

When they bring them into the building, all the men back up against the wall. The two lead the zombies to the cage, and push them in. At first I think that they're going to have the zombies fight each other. But no, how could they even do that? The zombies that we've seen so far have been impartial to others of their kind. What happens next is even worse.

A man, skinny and starving, is hauled up the stairs, into the room. His wrists are bound by shackles, mouth gagged. Blood spots his face, and scars and scabs cover his body.

And then, the man is thrown in the cage.

What happens next was one of the most horrific sights I have ever seen. The zombies rush at him, tackling him to the ground. They tear into his flesh and the other people in the room cheer. Blood splatters the cage, and the man grabs hold of the chain link. Our eyes lock, and I read his lips as he gasps out 'help me' before the life drains out of him. He slumps to the ground, and the zombies become even more ravenous.

A man holds up a stopwatch and calls out something that I can't hear. Many of the men scowl, and hand over money to the man.

They're bringing up another man, this one armed, and getting rid of the other's body when I hear a voice. And it's not one I know.

"Miss, this is an invitation only event." I spin around, and take in that Fang, JJ, and I are the only three not having our wrists bound by big, burly men.

For a moment, I'm touched at how hard everyone's fighting back, but then I get slapped into reality when one guy grabs my wrists. "Don't touch me!" I growled, kneeing him where it counts and punching him in the face. I was quite satisfied by the cracking noise and from there turned to make a run for it, but was rudely shoved to the ground before I could get five feet away. My wrists were bound together before I could even register anything else, and when I looked up, I saw that JJ and Fang were also tied up, though the amount of blood on Fang's face was quite unnerving.

The men walk us into the building, but no one else notices, too absorbed in the next cage match to pay attention. Another man is in the cage, with a knife, but this time there are three zombies coming at him. I turn away before I see anything that I really don't want to.

We're led down the same steps that the men came up, and I fear that we're going to have the same fate as them. We come to a cross road, and down one hall is cell upon cell full of moaning men and women. I try to think of how we could escape the cells, when we turn down the other hallway.

In contrast to the other one, this has actual doors, and the rotten, wood floor creaks considerably less. We go through one of the doors, and find a room with a table and chairs, like a conference room.

"Sit down." Says thug number one, pointing to the chairs. "The boss'll be in here to see you shortly."

I don't have time to ask who this 'the boss' is, because thug number one slams the door in my face. And here I thought we had a connection.

A few minutes later, we hear the door open. I turn my chair around, and am shocked again tonight.

A girl who looks almost exactly like me stands in the doorway. Once the initial shock wears off, and I start to inspect her closer, with narrowed eyes, I start to notice differences. While I despise pink, this girl has a bright streak of it in her hair. Her clothes are slightly more revealing than I'd be comfortable with, and unlike me, this girl looks like she's been rather comfortable this whole time.

"Maya?" Evan asks, shocked as I am.

I turn to her as a million questions run through my head, like_ how the fudge Evan knows my lookalike,_ but I don't have time to ask any of them because the girl starts talking. "Evan, what a pleasant surprise, I thought you would've been dead by now!" She chirps up brightly, in contradiction to the glare on her face.

Evan opens and closes her mouth, but the girl, Maya, doesn't give her time to respond. "And Logan! I'm surprised you don't remember me. I'm hurt." Maya gives Logan a second to think about it, putting a hand over her heart and a pout on her face.

"Wait, Maya? From the lab? I thought you were bitten!" Logan exclaims, a smile momentarily on stretching across her face. It quickly slides off, and a crease comes between her eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"

"As for your first question, you're not the only one who had access to the cure, short stuff. And I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" Maya raises an eyebrow, but Logan doesn't seem any less confused. Maya sighs, and continues. "Really? I expect more out of you guys. I've been organizing this thing since day one."

"What is this thing?" JJ asks rudely.

"Zombie fighting." Maya says, smirking at JJ condescendingly. "Kind of like cage fighting, only somebody always ends up dead. And one of you is up next."

She scans our faces, deciding who she wants to put in the cage first. Her eyes linger on JJ, and I worry that she'll be next before she moves on. To Fang. She snaps, and two guards appear in the doorway. "Get him ready for the cage!" Maya snaps.

"Yes, ma'am!" The two guys make their way into the room, but it ultimately takes around twenty. Five to take Fang wherever they're taking him, and fifteen to hold the rest of us off.

When they're finally gone, I check to make sure they locked the door, and unfortunately they did. I groan and sit down on a chair, holding my head in my hands.

"He'll be okay, Max." JJ tries to reassure, but we both know he won't. Not some insane amount to one. I may not know Maya, but from the gleam in her eyes I could tell that was what she was planning..

"So, how do you know Maya, Evan?" Nudge asks in an attempt to change the subject.

Evan looks nervous. "Oh, um, she was my friend in middle school. Then she, um, moved. We haven't really talked since."

I was about to say something, but someone else beats me to it. "Why hello there, Maxie-kinz!" A familiar voice whisper-calls and I look up from my seat to see none other than the pink-haired idiot grinning at me with a set of keys jangling in his hand. "Need some help?"

"Luka you..." My voice trails off. You what? What could I call him right now? He was about to save us from getting killed. "Life saver! Get us out of here!" I exclaim quietly.

"Not until JJ promises me something." He says, smirking darkly.

"No, Luka, I'm not going to promise to not kill you! Now let us out." JJ snaps, rolling her eyes.

"I want you to be my girlfriend." Luka says in a 'duh' tone, to which JJ's eyes practically pop out of their sockets, and Devin chokes on her own spit. Luka notices this and expertly ignores it. Jerk.

"You... and JJ?" I begin, laughing halfheartedly more for Devin's sake. "I can see the headlines now! Girlfriend kills Boyfriend over prank, Boyfriend haunts nightmares!" I laugh at the thought, until I notice Luka isn't saying 'Just kidding' and JJ isn't saying 'No.'

"Do I still get to kill you?" JJ asks, as if she was actually thinking about it!

"Do whatever you want to me, Babe." Luka grins and I gag, praying Fang and I never have a conversation anywhere near this... joke.

"Then sure why not, I now pronounce myself, JJ, your girlfriend!" She says, obviously trying to sound bored, but even I can see the excitement she's trying to hide.

"Awesome." With that, Luka unlocks the cage door and no one hesitates to make a run for it. Though out of the corner of my eye I see Luka get slapped by JJ. Hard. Blood drips down his cheek yet he's smiling as if he's high or something.

For now though, I ignore the fact that they are probably going to be the worst couple ever and head off to find Fang.

We race off down the opposite hallway, avoiding the arms reaching for us from within the cells, and the calls for help. From the screams of terror coming from up the stairs, we don't have much time, not nearly enough to help all these people.

After checking all the cells, and still not finding Fang, we stop to figure out a plan. "If you were Maya, where would you keep your prized prisoner?" I ask.

"During the time I was at the lab, there was one thing that I noticed about Maya. No matter who you were, she thought she was better than you."

"Which would mean that she wouldn't trust other people to watch Fang." I say.

"Exactly. She'd have him right by her side." Logan explains.

"So, we find Maya, we find Fang?" Devin asks.

"Yep. And she loves to be the center of attention. She'd want all eyes on her and her prize." Logan states.

"So, we have to head," Sam begins, looking towards the stairs, "Up there."

"Unfortunately." JJ mutters.

"So, do we have a plan? Or are we just winging it?" Evan asks.

"Of course we have a plan," I say, rolling my eyes at her. "Don't die. Now, off we go!"

We walk towards the stairs, looking out for other people. I go up the stairs first, checking around the corner.

What I see makes my stomach drop, and our mission a hundred times harder. Fang's already being loaded into the cage, and though he is trying to fight the men off, they still manage to get him in. Like we had suspected, the cage is loaded with at least five zombies. A man cuts off Fang's restraints with a knife, and then hands the knife to him. If he wouldn't have to turn his back on the zombies, I'm sure Fang would have stabbed the man.

I turn back to the others. "Okay guys, change of plans."

"Wait, you mean we get a better plan than 'don't die'? Awesome." Evan says sarcastically.

I glare at her briefly but then say, "Fang's already being loaded into the cage," I glance around the corner towards the window, and see that the sun is already rising. "It's probably close to six a.m., so everyone's probably going to leave soon. They're going to want the last fight to be quick but gory."

"So, we don't have a lot of time." JJ concludes. JJ and I lock eyes, and I tilt my head to the side. She shakes her head a silent 'no'.

"It's our only chance." I say out loud.

"Iggy and Gazzy specifically said only to use it during an emergency." JJ says with a glance towards the others, who just look confused.

"I'd love to know what you classify as an emergency, if this isn't one." I snap back sarcastically.

JJ sighs. "Fine. You're going to do it anyways, so who am I to stop you."

I flash a smug smile her way, and tell the others to stay back and cover their noses.

I quickly scan the room. On one side, is the cage, with Fang fighting four of the zombies at a time. One is already on the ground, lying motionless. Surrounding it is a crowd of people that has seemed to double since the time we got here. Most of them have a knife in their belt, but  
it looks as if I could take them.

Behind the crowd, directly across from the stairway, is Maya. She sits on a lavish chair, on a raised platform. It's as if she's deluded herself into thinking she's got the run of this place. I know that without the guards surrounding her, she would be defenseless to the men in the crowd or the zombies tied to the trees outside. Even the best martial arts skills wouldn't stand a chance against these threats.

This gets me thinking. Without the guards... I turn to JJ and give her a look. "You get Fang and I'll get the female dog." JJ whispers. I crack a half smile despite the situation, and take a round object out of my back pocket. Neither the guards nor Maya had thought to search us.

I swing my arm behind me and take aim. For this to work, the bomb has to land in exactly the right place. If it lands too close to Maya, a majority of the guards would come out unscathed. If it's too close to the guards, one of the men might get hurt, and though I find them despicable, they seem innocent enough.

I throw it, and for a long moment, it stays suspended in the air. Everything is in slow motion, and I draw in a breath, releasing it when the bomb lands and time speeds back up.

Smoke fills the air, along with a noxious gas. The bomb Iggy and Gazzy had designed was supposed to let out a mixture of sleeping gas and smoke. This way, the people who inhaled would fall unconscious, giving us time to accomplish whatever we needed, hidden under the smoke.

I silently thank Iggy for doing this, giving up his chance to go. Him and a few others had stayed at the camp, because I had no idea how dangerous this would turn out to be.

I make my way over to where I remember the cage to be, with Logan and Evan following behind me. The smoke is starting to thin out, and I know we don't have much time. I finger the lock on the door, wondering how to get it open.

If Fang notices us, he hasn't shown it. Of course, he's Fang, so I assume he has. There's only three zombies left, but they've got him pinned against the wall of the cage.

I step away from the door, rifling through my pockets. Coming up with nothing I lift up my head, only see one figure standing next to me. Which means that either Logan or Evan is missing.

Clearing the smoke with my arms, I see a frantic Logan. "Max! She was right here one moment ago! I turned my head for one second, _one second_, to look for something to open the cage, and she was gone! Where do you-" I cut off Logan's ramble. Honestly, she's starting to sound like Nudge.

I'm about to start trying to reassure her that Evan's fine when I see someone coming towards us. I grab the closest thing I can find, which turns out to be a broom, left over from the days when this was just a warehouse, and step in front of Logan.

"Um, Max? What's with the broom?" The figure asks, and I instantly drop the broom, rushing at them.

"Evan! Don't you dare scare us like that again." I say, my smile turning to a glare.

"But I found this!" Evan protests, holding a crowbar up. She walks over to the cage, and heaves the crowbar over her shoulder. She smashes it over the lock, breaking the thing in two. The sudden sound makes Fang looks over, but he quickly goes back to the zombies.

With a kick that brings the remaining zombies tumbling to the ground, Fang rushes over to the door. He pushes it open, taking Evan's arm and running back over to Logan and I. And when I look back, I can see why.

The three zombies who Fang had pushed to the ground are stumbling out of the door, shuffling towards us at a speed faster than normal.

Even at our jog, they're slowly catching up to us. Maybe it's just Fang, who looks slightly tired, but he's still going as fast as us, so I dismiss that. No, it seems as though these zombies are...

I'm taken out of my thoughts when I hear a scream from behind us. I whip around, hoping against hope that this is not what I think it is. But of course, it is.

Logan stands in the arm of one of the zombies. To her credit, she's fighting back, kicking and throwing punches, but without a weapon, it'll never be enough.

I pick up the discarded crowbar, rushing at the zombies, even though I already know it's too late. Blood covers Logan's arm, and I'm sure it's her's.

I push the closest zombie away from her, sticking the crowbar into it's head. From my peripheral vision, I see Fang and Evan take the other two zombies out.

I kneel down next to Logan, taking off my jacket and tearing the sleeves off. Logan's hand stops me.

"No, Max. That won't help. You have to find JJ and the others. Fang and Evan can carry me back to camp. I have another dose of the antidote in my pack." Logan says, her eyelids fluttering.

I nod my head, stumbling to get up. All that's running through my head as I make my way through the smoke is that I can't have_ another_ person die under my leadership. Names flit through my head, one after another, a continuous cycle of death. _Dylan, Ella, Ari._ I don't want to add Logan onto my list.

I finally find JJ and the others, and with one look at me JJ can tell something's wrong. Whether it's a look on my face or something in my eyes telling her how close to a breakdown I am, I may never know, but it makes me realize that I'm showing weakness. I compose my face into an emotionless mask, and run over to them.

"What's wrong, Max?" JJ asks warily.

My words tumble out as I rush them to the door. "It's Logan. She was bitten when we were getting Fang out. She has another dose of the antidote at the camp, but I don't know if Fang will make it there in time."

We pass the spot where I had left the others, and I'm slightly relieved to see that they're not there anymore. The relief dissipates as I realize that in their place are the carcasses of the zombies and a pool of dark, red blood. It doesn't take an idiot to know that it's Logan's.

As we pass it, Luka lets out a strangled cry, and we all speed up. JJ pulls out her walkie talkie from her hoodie pocket as we burst through the doors, into the mid morning sun. Finally out in the open, we all start full out running.

"Lissa, Nudge, we're going to need those cars ready. We ran into some trouble, and Logan's hurt. Over." JJ tucks the device back into her pocket.

We finally reach the camp, to find it in chaos. Iggy and Fang are trying to get everyone to calm down, but it's no use. Logan lays in the trunk of a car, surrounded by Luka, JJ, Sam, Lissa, and Brigid, who are being substitute doctors. Evan and Devin run around, packing things up as Gazzy throws the ever growing mound of supplies into the trunk of the other car. Nudge seems to be in a shouting match with Anna, Angel trying to calm her down, and I decide that's where I can be of the most use.

"I'm not going!" Anna yells, uncharacteristically, a fire blazing in her eyes.

Before Nudge can shout back, I interrupt. "What the heck are you arguing about?" I say, slightly annoyed.

"Anna thinks that she's just going to stay here and be fine, taking care of her little zombie farm for the rest of her life." Nudge hisses, glaring at Anna.

"Anna, you can't stay here." I hesitantly say.

"Of course you would be on her side. I know that you don't agree with me, but they're people-"

I cut her off. "This has nothing to do with your beliefs on zombies. It's not safe here anymore. No treehouse is going to protect you."

"Look, I'm not going with you. I'm a peaceful person. I can't be living with a bunch of people who go around killing zombies!" Anna pleads with me in a quiet voice.

At this Nudge gets angry. "We do _not_ go around _killing zombies_. What we're doing is_ surviving_. We are helping people, instead of hiding out in the trees, playing_ house_. Do you really think the people who did _that_," She stops to gesture at Logan, "Will care if you're a 'peaceful person'? It's time to put your big girl pants on. This isn't a game. This is real." Nudge storms away, leaving both Anna and me gaping.

I close my mouth first. "Anna, I think she's right. Nudge may not have gone at it right, but the people who keep taking your zombies, aren't good people. They know where you live. You have to come with us."

It takes a minute for her to decide, and I let her. "Okay. I'll go." She takes one last look back up at her tree house, and then walks to one of the cars as Nudge gets in the other.

As Logan is being loaded into one of the cars, I get in the other. I'm happy to see that she's okay, but my shoulders are still weighed down.

I settle into the seat and close the door. How could sweet, little Nudge turn into that person? I had never seen her like that, so cold. It was like she was a different person, one I didn't even know.

And Anna. Did she really think that the rest of us were monsters, uncivilized cavemen, who killed for sport?

And what about Maya? What does it take to break a person so completely that they don't regret taking a human life? How could a person look so much like me, yet be so different?

And that was the difference, I realized. The thing that made Maya different than me is that she had no concept of human life. Where she cared so little, I cared too much, as shown by my ever growing list of people I had to protect.

And with these thoughts plaguing my mind, I stared out my window, seeing everything and nothing at the same time.

**Um, wow. That was soo not where I expected the end of this chapter to go. No happy ending this time, huh?**

**Thanks again, everyone. Every time I pm one of my reviewers, read a review, or get an alert or favorite, I smile until it hurts.**

**So, did you guys like it? Just know, this is the beginning of actual stuff happening. Before, all they did was fight, and occasionally die, but now they're going to have to face something bigger than zombies.**

**SO. I'm officially on summer vacation! But, that doesn't mean faster reviews. I might be taking a break from FF for about a week? I'm not exactly sure how long. Don't worry though. It's nothing too serious. I'm just going to be kind of busy for awhile, and I don't want you guys to be too upset when you don't get an update, so I'm just warning you.**

**BUT. Luckily for you, I'm going to try to write the next chapter during my break, so after it, I can post. I just won't really be pming as much.**

**Special thanks to-**

**NeonEnigma88 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**The Winged Nyan (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Disney'sGurl (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**WingsRock72 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**MaxPercyClaryNewtLenaKatnissKy(For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**YAYA IS KING (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**IAmABookNerdAndI'mPROUDOFIT(For reviewing the chapter)**

**maxride227 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Don'tDisTheSonic (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Guest reviewer- maximumride8899 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**Unicorns. (For reviewing the chapter and having an awesome name)**

**Wolf and MR Lover (For reviewing every chapter)**

**boxtoplad999 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Allysssa14 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**Flygrrl (For reviewing every chapter)**

**VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter and helping with the chapter)**

**Flyingwiththeflock425 (For reviewing the chapter)**

**Maximumride11446 (For reviewing every chapter)**

**Guest reviewer- GODEATERBURST (For reviewing the chapter- lol. Thanks for reviewing again. Good job with the song, but someone got it before you. Maybe this time?)**

**BlazeStar4163 (For reviewing the chapter and getting the OC)**

**And everyone else who favorited, followed, or read! Onto the LOTD!**

**LOTD-**  
**There's colors on the street**  
**Red, white and blue**  
**People shufflin' their feet**  
**People sleepin' in their shoes**  
**But there's a warnin' sign**  
**on the road ahead**  
**There's a lot of people sayin'**  
**we'd be better off dead**  
**Don't feel like Satan,**  
**but I am to them**  
**So I try to forget it,**  
**any way I can.**

**I hope at least some of you know that. I was going to do some Vanessa Carlton song but decided on this one, since I was hoping less people would know it. Honestly, I only know it because of my grandpa. Whenever I go to his house he has me look up youtube videos for him, like Guns and Roses, and Alice Cooper. He also started my obsession with horror movies and we used to watch Glee together before I moved. He's really cool...**

**Anyways! This isn't pity party time, so I'm going to move on. It's not like he's dead, afterall.**

**QOTD-**

**Who is your favorite pairing in this story, besides Fax? We have: LJ (Luka+JJ), Nazzy, Slogan (Sam+Logan), (we used to have) Angel+Ari, Levin (Luka+Devin), and Gevan (Gazzy+Evan)! Yeah, if you couldn't tell, I'm horrible at couple names.**

**SO. In this chapter, Maya is a female dog, Max is close to a breakdown, Logan reunites with one of her crazy work buddies, Fang is cage dancing, Evan finds a crowbar, Anna's playing house, Nudge is going Bridezilla, Iggy is babysitting, Gazzy has another bomb, Angel is trying to play peacekeeper, Sam doesn't even say anything in this chapter (but he's there!), Luka is officially dating JJ, JJ is part of the worst relationship ever, I can't come up with anything else, and this story officially has too many characters to remember!**

**Well, I've got tons of people telling me to update, so my rants are done. Hope everyone enjoyed. Don't forget to review! Reviews are 100 dollar bills you find on the ground! And you get your name on *dramatic pause* ****_the list_****.**

**_-Random_**** :D**

**(Why do italics make things seem so fancy?!)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, guys! I'm keeping this short, cuz this is going to be a looong chapter. Don't get use to it. Hope this didn't bore anyone! Oh, but one thing- we're officially past two hundred! You're all awesome! **

* * *

**Day Ten of the Zombie Apocalypse**

"Who's Ella?"

I sit up fast at the voice, too fast. With a pounding head, I look over to Anna, who asked the question. "What?"

"Ella. You kept muttering her name in your sleep."

I'm about to snap at her to mind her own business, when I look at her face closer. Instead of the nosy curiosity I had expected to find, I only see concern. "She was my sister." I say, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Was?" Anna asks.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see JJ glance back at us worriedly from the rearview mirror. I smile reassuringly back at her before saying to Anna, "Yeah, she, uh, she died. It was zombies. Only a few days after the first night."

Anna looks down. "My parents were attacked and my little brother was taken by the National Guard. I'm sorry, Max."

I shrug her apology off. "It''s not your fault."

"I didn't say sorry because it was. Saying 'I'm sorry' can be a way of... emphasizing. Letting a person know that you feel their pain. Sometimes you say it so someone knows that you're there if they need to talk, not just because you think it's your fault." Anna says.

"Well, if it's anyone's fault, it's my boyfriend's." JJ says from the front seat.

"Hey!" Luka cries out in protest, feigning hurt.

I only scoff. "You just wanted to call him your boyfriend."

JJ turns red and stops talking, while Luka flashes a smile in my direction. "Well, you can't really blame her. Who _wouldn't_ want this hunk as their boyfriend?"

"I wouldn't." I say.

"Me neither." Anna agrees, shaking her head.

Wrinkling up her nose, Angel says, "Yeah, no."

From the very back of the car, I hear a chorus of "No way!'s in varying forms.

I smirk at Luka. "What were you saying?"

Luka smirks back. "Well, at least I can admit that I have feelings for JJ."

"But I don't have feelings for JJ." I say, confused.

Rolling his eyes, Luka states, "I hope not, girl. I was talking about your feelings for_ Fang_!"

The car quiets down instantly, and I can feel everyone lean towards me. "Are we sure he's not gay?" I say looking around. "Luka, why don't you just join the F.U.? Then you could just gossip with everyone else about my supposed 'feelings' and how cute they are."

When my comment, which was meant to be sarcastic, is met with silence, I sigh. "He's in the club, isn't he?"

Angel is the first to respond. "Most of the group is in it..."

"Is anyone in this car _not_ in it?" I ask, tiredly.

"No, I don't-" Angel begins, but JJ cuts her off.

"I'm not an official member. My ceremony got cut off."

"By what?" This time, I'm actually curious.

"There was a sale at the mall that only lasted till five that Nudge just had to go to."

"What time was it?" Saphire asks.

"Probably nine a.m. or something." I mutter with a roll of my eyes.

"Surprisingly, no!" At my look of shock, JJ says, "I know, right? It was actually noon. I think she just overslept though."

"Now, that I believe." Luka states as we make a turn. "That girl sleeps like a rock. I swear, she could sleep through Armageddon."

I'm about to ask Luka how he knows such a big word, when suddenly I lurch to the side, smashing Angel into the passenger side door.

I hear screams from all around me, and hold onto Angle as we swerve in the other direction. "What the hel-" I get a glance of Angel's blue eyes and quickly change what I was going to say, "-lo are you doing?!"

JJ doesn't answer, so I'm forced to look around her seat and through the windshield. As we swerve again, I see why. At least thirty zombies are shambling along the road, ten more surrounding something that looks like a dead dog, tearing through it's flesh and in the next few seconds all I can see is a lump covered in red.

Red. It covers the highway, as if someone had painted it. The trees are splattered with it, the zombies are covered in it, and random pools of it are scattered across the road, giving the whole place a deadly feel. Even though I'm in a car, I can practically smell the death and decay.

As the car goes up on two wheels as JJ makes a sharp turn to avoid hitting a zombie, Luka shouts, "Just hit the beepin' S.L.U.T.S!"

JJ cuts her eyes over to him and says sharply, "Look, when you're driving the car you got for your sixteenth birthday, you can run over all the zombies you want."

Luka wistfully replies, "I never got a car for my sixteenth birthday."

"Does it look like I care?!" JJ screeches.

Although we're in a life or death situation, I can't help but make a sarcastic remark. "Well, you are the one who brought it up."

"Young lady, do you want me to crash this car?" JJ says through gritted teeth.

"I'm older than you!" I protest.

"Shut up, all of you!" JJ navigates the car dangerously through the zombies, turning as soon as she gets a chance.

We pull over, far enough down the road that we're away from zombies, but close enough that we'll be able to see the other car coming. And with Iggy driving, it won't take long. A small smile forms on my face as I picture him plowing through the zombies, not worried in the least about his paint job.

But the smile melts off my face as, through the trees, I see the car Iggy's driving racing down the road. He turns down the road that we went down, almost tipping his car over, and I know that he's going too fast to stop. I open my mouth to tell Angel to get out, but I know it's too late. Because in the next second, it's not the zombies he's plowing through. It's us.

* * *

_The tear of metal. Glass shattering. Angel screaming. I take everything in frame by frame, piece by piece. Nothing makes sense, yet I've never seen things clearer._

_It's probably the concussion talking, but even though these terrible sounds and images rush through my head I feel at peace. Like all the worries of the world are off my shoulders. I'm... free._

_I wake up, and all I can see is white. I groggily rub my eyes, but it doesn't help. Blinking, I start to take in my surroundings. I'm in a room, everything inside it a blinding white. The floor, couch, the wooden bookshelf. The only thing that isn't white is the girl standing across the room, scanning the shelves for something to read._

_"Where the snicker doodle am I?" I mutter, rubbing my head._

_"Snicker doodle? Really, Max?" The girl replies casually. I, on the other hand, jump a foot in the air, not having expected her to respond._

_The girl finally turns around, and I can see her face. "To answer your question, though, I'm not really sure. Somewhere between Heaven and Earth. A middle ground I guess."_

_I completely ignore what she had just said. "Ella? Is it really you?"_

_"Of course it's me. Who else would be patient enough to keep an eye on you without strangling you?"_

_I spring up from the floor, running towards her. Hugging her tightly, I whisper, "Oh, my god, Ella. I thought you were dead. You were dead!"_

_"I am dead." She says dryly, with a roll of her eyes. "Were you listening to anything I just said, Max?"_

_I look down sheepishly. Ella sighs. "Of course not. Listen, Max. I don't have much time here, and neither do you. You-"_

_I cut her off. "Wait, what do you mean? Will I be able to see you again?"_

_Always the patient one, Ella says gently, "We both have to leave here soon. I don't know when or if I'll see you again." She continues on with a sad smile on her face. " You have to keep Angel and Nudge safe, alright? They're both going through a hard time. I've seen how this could end, and without them, the results of this could be even more catastrophic than they already are. And Devin. Keep an eye on her, Max. She's important to this too."_

_"What do you mean you've seen how this ends?"_

_Ella keeps going, paying no attention to my question. "Now, I know you're going to want to break down, Max. You're going to feel alone, and have a heavy weight on your shoulder. But you've got to stay strong. You're not alone, no matter how much you feel that way."_

_She looks towards a door that has suddenly appeared behind her. As if by magic, it opens by itself, and a white light comes out of it. "I have to go now. Take care, Max."_

_She gets up, taking her hand out of mine. "Ella! No, I can't lose you again!"_

_"Remember what I told you, and know that I'm always with you, whether you see me or not." Ella says over her shoulder. I nod, and she steps through the doors, leaving me wondering whether or not I'd ever be able to see my sister again._

* * *

I wake up, and that peaceful feeling leaves, the ten pound weight slamming back down on my shoulders. I look around the car, as much as I can with my head feeling like led, and take in my surroundings.

Angel's hair is thrown around her head like a halo, and I try to lift myself off of her. "Angel," I whisper, hoping to get an answer. When I don't I get worried, but then I see her eyes flitting around and flash her a small smile. She smiles back. I look to the front seat, and see that although Iggy's car hit on JJ's side, she avoided most of the damage.

Both her and Luka look unconscious, and they're hands are linked in the middle. I twist myself around, and see that Anna and the three girls in the back seat, Devin, Lissa, and Brigid, were less lucky. Anna's arm is twisted in a way that isn't normal, purple, green, and yellow bruises dotting the length of her arm. Her side is bloody, from a piece of metal jutting out from where Iggy's car hit us.

Lissa, who was sitting in the middle of the back seat, looks like she's received the least damage out of the 's lying on top of Brigid, who has a trail of blood running down her forehead. My eyes widen, but a burst of relief hits me when I realize it's just from a piece of glass off her window.

My eyes finally land on Devin. It looks like she received the worst of the damage. Unlike everyone else in the car, her eyelids aren't fluttering, it doesn't even look like she's breathing. Her arm is gushing blood, her foot is twisted between two pieces of metal, and I know we're going to have a hard time getting her out of there.

But the worst thing is the shard of glass that's impaled itself in her stomach.

When I see the horde of zombies that is coming from the road we just turned off of, I know it's time to get out of here.

It looks like the car flipped over at least a few times, because it's tipped over on it's side. We're not going to be able to use the passenger side door or Angel's.

"JJ," I say. When she looks back at me, blinking dazedly, I continue in a calm and clear voice. "I need you to open your door and help Luka out. You too Anna."

Once they do as they're told, and the two of them and Luka are out, I pick Angle up, and lift her over me. She reaches up and Luka helps her out of the car.

"Lissa, I need you to check if Devin has a pulse. JJ, Angel, you two need to start checking on everyone in the other car." I instruct.

Looking towards Lissa, I hope desperately that Devin will magically open her eyes and be fine. I know that won't happen though.

Relief washes over me when I get a nod from Lissa. Devin has a pulse. But that doesn't mean we're out of this yet.

I look out the window to see that JJ and Angel have almost everyone out of the other car, and Fang is slapping Iggy awake. A bit harder than necessary, but I have bigger problems. The zombies are progressively making their way towards us, and are now about one third of a mile away.

"We need to get her foot out." Lissa says. Brigid scoots closer and examines it.

"Are we going to have to amputate it?" Gazzy asks, and though his tone is somber, I can detect a note of giddiness in it. Everyone has huddled around the door of the car and is putting their two cents in.

"Will everybody be quiet?!" Logan hisses, shouldering her way to the front of the small crowd. "We don't have to amputate," She begins, glaring at Gazzy, who gives her a sheepish smile. "But we do have to pull it out. From the position it's in, we might break it."

Brigid, Lissa, and I get out of the car, giving Fang and Luka room to get in. They get a hold on Devin's leg and slowly start counting. "One... Two... Three!" At three, they both give a strong pull, and a sickening sound can be heard.

The two of them lift her out of the car and into Iggy's waiting arms. Luka and Fang climb out, and I risk a glance back. The zombies are closer now, less than a hundred feet away.

"Uh, guys?" I say. "I think it's time to go." With so many of us injured, we don't have the manpower to fight.

We make our way through the rubble that's all around the car and into the woods. We start out at a steady jog, but I realize two things at the same time- the zombies are catching up to us, and we can't go any faster.

We'll have to stay and fight. But at the same time... we can't. Anna's got a broken arm, Brigid's got a head wound, I don't even know how bad Devin is, not to mention that we all might be suffering from concussions.

So we run faster, even though it can't be good for any of our injuries. Stumbling and tearing through the foliage, little by little, we gain headway, until even the closest zombie can't be seen.

We stop running at the edge of the , we cross the highway, stopping at the other side of it.

"Okay, we need a plan. Most of our supplies were in Iggy's car, so we got out what we could, but-" JJ is interrupted by Nudge falling to her knees, and letting out a cry of despair.

We all rush over to her. "Nudge, what's wrong?" I ask, checking her for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

She shakes her head. With tears in her eyes, she says, "It's just... All of the clothes and makeup were in the wrecked car! They're ruined!"

I let out a puff of air, that's somewhere between a sigh of relief and a huff of annoyance. Angel starts looking through her backpack, and then, with a roll of her eyes, pulls a few things out.

"I knew something like this would happen, so I grabbed a few things," She explains, handing Nudge a dress and a makeup kit.

Nudge squeals, then tackles Angel in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She cries out.

"Yeah, well, you're carrying them." Angel says, though I can tell she's secretly pleased that Nudge is happy.

"Well, now that that's over," Saph begins, eyeing the two girls. "JJ's right. We need a plan."

"Let's see. We've got no cars, barely any food, almost no water, and most of our weapons were in the car that Iggy completely destroyed." Luka says, ticking the things off on his fingers. "Oh, but we do have cuts, broken bones, and an unconscious girl."

"We also have these." Evan says, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some papers. She smoothes them out, and lays them on the ground.

I reach for one, examining it. "This one looks like a layout for something. Wait, is this that warehouse?" I ask, handing it to JJ to look at.

She looks at it but shakes her head. "No, see this?" She asks, pointing to a four way intersection. "There were only two hallways by the stairs. This is another place."

"Logan," Fang says. "Your name is on this."

The girl scoots closer to Fang, peering at the list of names on the paper.

"Huh," She begins. "That's weird. I recognize most of these names."

Lissa glances at Logan, confused. "Where from?"

"I worked with them at the lab."

"That is weird," I say, taking the list. Then I glance at Devin, who's still unconscious. "Hey, guys? Isn't Devin's last name Stryker?"

"Yeah, why? Is she on there?" Evan asks.

"No... Her dad is."

"Why would her dad be doing on a list of employees for some lab? She said that he was too crazy to get a job at Walmart, let alone some fancy lab."

"What if it's not a list of employees?" JJ says slowly.

Logan rolls her eyes, taking another paper from the pile and scanning over it. "Of course it is. I mean, what else could it be?"

JJ and I lock eyes, and I give her a nod. "Logan, what type of jobs did the people you know on that list have?"

"Oh, you know. Assistants, interns, a lot of them didn't even have actual jobs, they just were studying with the scientists there. Learning the trade, all the 'secrets'." She says with a little laugh. "We weren't really important, but we could be." Logan finishes up, shrugging.

"How important would you say you guys were?" JJ asks, managing to hide how concerned she really was.

"Well, I guess you could say we were disposable. New assistants came in all the time, and there were piles of applications for interns every month. But on the other hand, we were always with at least one scientist, so it wasn't like we didn't see stuff."

"What's with all the questions, guys?" Luka asks with an edge to his voice and I know he's figured it out too. That this wasn't just some random list of employees.

It was a hit list. And Logan was on it.

Just then, something occurs to me."Hey, Evan?"

"Yeah?" She looks up from one of the papers to see me looking suspiciously at her.

"Where did you find these? They don't really look like something someone would leave lying on the coffee table, if you know what I mean." I go for nonchalance, but everyone can hear the edge in my voice.

"Oh, when I was looking for that crowbar, I found them. They were near where Maya was sitting, so I just grabbed them." Evan looks slightly nervous, so instead of dropping the subject like I usually would, I stay at it.

"That was pretty lucky, wasn't it?"

"I thought so too! Of course, I didn't even know they would be important at the time, so I could have just come back with blank pages." Evan looks more at ease when she says that, so this time I do drop it. Although I doubt she found those by accident, I don't doubt that she had no idea what she found. She probably still didn't.

So I just nod, but I can hear her exhale a little breath and cover it up with a cough.

"I've got an address!" Iggy suddenly shouts.

"Where?" Saph asks.

"On this paper." Iggy answers back.

"No, you idiot!" Saph says, annoyed. "I meant, where is the address?"

"Wow, first you hold a knife against my throat and now you are calling me an idiot. I don't know if I want to tell you the address." Iggy says, sniffing indignantly.

"Boy, I will cut you." Saph says with a glare.

"Iggy is sorry, Master!" Iggys says, running over to Saph and handing her the paper. "The address is right here, Master!" He says, pointing at the paper as Saph examines it with a smug smile.

"P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney..." Saph manages to say with a straight face.

"Wait, really? That's awesome! Omg, I didn't even even know that was a real place! But how will we get there? Cuz-" Nudge is cut off by my hand.

"Nudge. She was kidding." I say.

"Oh..."

"Yeah... Anyways the address is actually here in Virginia. Over in Roanoke." Saph says.

"How far away is it?" Sam asks.

Saph tries to calculate it in her head. "Well, the campsite we were at was a few miles away from Anna's tree house, and that was a few miles away from here...I'd say less than an hour. Tops."

"Wait, we're just going to go to some random address because it was on a piece of paper that Evan found?" Fang asks.

"Well, that was the plan..." Sam says. Logan giggles, but quickly quiets down when people turn to look at her.

While the others start talking about what we should do, Fang arguing that we should look into it further, Luka stating that it wouldn't hurt to just drive up and check it out, and Sam making sarcastic comments which cause giggles from Logan, I feel someone tap me on my shoulder.

"Max?" Gazzy asks.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Can I... talk to you about our 'problem'?" Gazzy implies.

"Oh, sure. Let's go talk about it over there so we don't interrupt this." I say, getting up. Gazzy follows me a few feet over and starts talking.

"Max, I think I know who the traitor is!"

"Really? Who?" I ask. I had put Gazzy in charge of finding the traitor, since, despite his zombie obsession, he loved to read mystery novels. Of course, I hadn't really expected him to find them; you can only learn so much from reading Sherlock Holmes.

"Lissa and Brigid." He says, giddily. "Here, look at my notes. Day six of the ZA- Brigid and Lissa disappeared, and Ari died. Day eight- Brigid and Lissa went into the woods and came back thirty minutes later. Then, today, I saw Brigid hand one of the papers to Lissa, and Lissa put it in her pocket!"

"Gaz... I'm not sure that stuff qualifies them to be the traitors. I'll look into it some more, okay?" Gazzy looks a bit discouraged, but nods.

"Well, let's go back to the group little dude." I say and start walking back to the group with Gazzy.

When we get back, JJ fills us in. "Fang is still mad that Luka kissed you before he did, Luka's an idiot, Logan totally has a thing for Sam, and Sam is... Sam."

"No, that won't work. We did that at the warehouse and look where that got us." Fang says, crossing his arms over his chest

"Yeah, it got us these papers! And we should use them." Argues Luka.

Sam opens his mouth, but I beat him to it. "Why don't we act like civilized people, and take a vote?"

"I vote that they both shut up!" Sam says. And cue the giggles.

I sigh. Noticing how stressed I am, Brigid says, "She meant whether or not we go. It's obviously somewhere important."

Gazzy narrows his eyes. He whispers to me, "That's exactly the kind of thing a traitor would say! She wants to get us all killed!" I roll my eyes and let Brigid continue.

"From what I've read of these papers, this isn't the head quarters, but it's one of the main branches. There's another one in California, and the biggest one is in New York."

"So, this is basically the only chance we have?" Luka says, sending a smile towards Fang.

"Luka may be right." I hesitantly say. "Unless we want to go all the way to California, because there is no way I'm going to New York. That place is going to be a zombie infested death trap."

I can see that Fang is starting to come to terms with the fact that we're going to do this whether or not he agrees, but his pride gets in the way. "So, how are we going to get there? In case you haven't noticed, we don't have cars. Are we going to walk? Well, you can carry the unconscious girl, Luka."

"She has a name." Evan snaps.

"Besides that, Fang does have a point. No one here completely ready to fight." Logan says. "Devin is stabilized, but I haven't checked anyone else except Anna."

"And I have a broken arm." Anna says with a huff.

"So, while you guys decide what to do about our situation, Logan and I will be running a clinic. It's mandatory you come to get checked on." Brigid says authoritatively.

I decide to come too, to keep track of everyone's injuries. Logan hands me a red, spiral notebook and a purple pen. The notebook is almost filled up with Logan's curly writing, so I have to flip almost to the back before I find a clean page.

Devin lies on a makeshift cot at the side of the 'clinic'. Really, it's just a log that Fang and Iggy rolled over here and two first aid kits, but it's the best we have right now.

Both Logan and Brigid pull on latex gloves, and put their hair up. One by one, each person comes in. Logan picks the glass out of Lissa's leg. She bandages the cut on Brigid's forehead. Brigid stitches up a deep cut on Angel's arm, while Logan checks over JJ. Luka seems okay to me, but Brigid insists on checking his head.

When Anna comes in, Logan rummages through her medical kit. Peering over her shoulder, I saw gauze, creams, basically it was a doctor's office in a ten by ten piece of plastic. She took out the gauze and strips of fiberglass. Granted, the fiberglass was only white, but I wondered what else she had in there.

The occupants of Iggy's car, Nudge, Gazzy, Evan, Saph, Sam, Logan, Fang, and Iggy, all seemed relatively okay, besides minor cuts and scrapes, and the nosebleed Iggy had earlier.

When Logan and Brigid come at me with their medical kits of doom, I insist that I'm fine. "Really, guys. I'm okay." I say.

"We won't know that until you let us give you a check up, Max." Brigid says.

"I think I know if I'm okay or not. Seriously." I say, narrowing my eyes.

"Didn't you ever watch Doc. McStuffins? You shouldn't be afraid of doctors, Max." Logan says back.

"No. I didn't, because I didn't have an elementary schooler in my house. Wait, you didn't either!" I accuse.

Logan blushes. "That is besides the point. Just let us give you the check up, and we won't tell Fang you're in love with him."

My eyes grow wide. "What? Why would you tell him that?"

"Oh, my gosh! She didn't deny it!" Brigid squeals, jumping up and down.

"I'm not in love with Fang!" I take a deep breath to calm myself down. "I don't want Fang to hear your guys's version of this, which would probably include me admitting my undying love for him, so I'll let you give me a check up."

They get to work, and soon they've come to the same conclusion I came to five minutes ago; I'm fine. They get to work on Devin next, checking her pulse, making sure her foot is elevated, and taking her blood pressure.

While the two of them are doing that, Saph comes over to me. "I was told to tell you that Iggy and Luka are going to try to find a town to get cars and supplies."

"How are they going to do that?" I ask.

"I'm pretty sure they're just going to walk around with a map, which they were holding upside down when they left, until they find a car."

"What are they going to do with a car? I doubt that the ones that still have keys still have gas." Logans states.

"Iggy was muttering something about hot wiring one when he left. I don't have much hope for those two idiots, though." Saph says, before leaving.

Sam runs up to me. "Hey, Max! I wanted to know if you thought- Oh! Hi, Logan!" He says, pulling on the collar of his shirt.

"Hey, Sam." She says.

"Max, can I talk to you?" Sam asks.

I shrug. "Sure." I get up from the tree stump I was sitting on and follow Sam out of hearing range of the others.

"What's up?" I ask.

"I wanted to ask Logan to be my girlfriend."

"That's great!" I say, patting him on the shoulder. "What's the problem?"

"The thing is, I'm not sure how to make it special. Plus, I'd rather Luka not beat me up, if you know what I mean."

Laughing, I say, "I think Luka's gonna beat you up no matter how you ask her. But, I'm not sure if I'm the right person to ask. Did you try Nudge?"

"If I asked Nudge, she'd squeal so loud I went deaf." Sam says. "And Logan would know what I was going to do before I did."

"True. How about Angel?"

"That might work! Thanks, Max." Sam smiles, and I smile back.

"Anytime, Sam. I think Angel's over by the fire if you want to talk to her."

"I will. You won't tell Logan about any of this, right?" Sam asks timidly.

"Of course not. Now go talk to Angel."

"Okay!" He shouts, running over to Angel.

I sigh, and smile. But the sigh dies on my lips as the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I spin around and think about how stupid I am. Instead of chatting Sam up, I should have been on alert. I would have heard them much sooner.

And by 'them' I mean the horde of zombies that has been following us since the car crash.

The first of them are coming out of the woods as I run to the infirmary, and scoop up Devin. "We've got company!" I shout, as Logan and Brigid quickly pack up their medical kits. In minutes, everyone else is ready, and Fang takes Devin from my arms.

As we're running, this time faster, JJ asks, "Where are we going?"

I think about it. "We're going to have to go to Roanoke and hope that Luka and Iggy make it there too."

We make it to another highway. Unlike the last one, this one is filled with cars. "Okay, guys. Anyone know how to hotwire a car?"

Gazzy steps up. "I'm not as good as Iggy, but he taught me the basics."

I gesture to the car. "Well, now's your chance, kid."

Gazzy steps up to the car, as I watch the woods. The moans are getting louder, but I still don't see any zombies.

"Um, Max? You know that the doors are locked, right?" Nudge asks.

I just roll my eyes. Rummaging through Gazzy's backpack, I find a box. I open it and smile. Iggy had taught JJ and I how to pick locks when we got locked out of my house. Taking one of the tools, I slide it into the keyhole, twisting until I hear the satisfying click.

I hear a moan. I look back towards the woods, but still don't see anything. Then I look down. Fang had set Devin on the ground to help Gazzy with the car. Kneeling, I say, "Devin?"

"What happened?" She says, trying to sit up.

"Oh, sweetie, don't sit up." Logan says, sitting down next to me.

"You've been unconscious for hours. And we couldn't get all the glass out of your stomach, but we bandaged it. You sprained your ankle, too." Brigid says.

Devin rolls her eyes. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it." I say.

"Well, help me up then."

"No!" Brigid and Logan shout in unison. "You can't put weight on your ankle."

She stares at them until they look away. "When I was six, I fell from a twenty foot tree, in the middle of the woods. I had to walk home by myself. I think I can handle 'a little weight'. Now, where's my crossbow?"

No one wants to be the one to tell her. "Well, when we crashed, we kind of left them in the car." I say.

"I won't freak out on any of you if someone helps me up." Devin says.

Fang grabs her hand, and lifts her up. As promised, none of us get mauled.

Everyone gets in, and soon Gazzy gets the car started and I hear the roar of the engine. We had picked this car on purpose, because it was one of the first cars. Luckily it had gas, or else we would have had to use the little we had managed to save from the crash.

Using the map we found in the glove box, we drive to Roanoke. As Fang drives, I glance around nervously, hoping to see another car.

Finally, I get my wish. From behind us, a car honks. We pull over onto the side of the road, and I get out. "Stay here, until I-" Of course, no one listens to me. Nudge opens her door, and falls out onto the pavement. I'm pretty sure she actually kisses the ground.

"Fang is never allowed to drive again! He's even worse than you, Max! I didn't think that was possible. But, apparently it is! And don't even get me started on how crowded it was back there. And there's this thing called air conditioning, ever heard of it, people? It's not like-" Angel puts her hand over Nudge's mouth.

"Oh, thank God!" The person stepping out of the car says. Except the voice isn't male.

"Maya." I say, glaring.

"Oh, so you remember me this time?" She replies.

Logan sneers at her. "It's easy to remember someone with such an ugly face!" I look at her. "Oh! Max, it looks pretty on you!"

"Anyways, I just thought you'd want to know where your other two friends are. I believe their names were something like... Piggy and Luke?"

"Iggy and Luka." Evan whispers.

"Yeah, I didn't really pay attention to their names. They kept blabbing about how you were going to save them."

"What did you do to them?" Saph asks menacingly.

"Oh, we were just planning to do what we did to Tooth over there. Except, they wouldn't get away this time."

"Oh, sugar honey iced tea..." I hear JJ mutter.

"Why are you doing this, Maya?" Logan asks. "You used to be so nice..."

"Yeah, well, nice doesn't get you anywhere." Maya snaps. "You wanna hear my backstory, fine. I got tired of always living under your shadow. 'Logan's so great!' 'Logan's going to be the biggest doctor around!' I was the top dog until you came around. Then it was like you were the savior and I was just a cast along."

"Wait. You created a mob, started cage fights with zombies, and are kidnapping people... because you're jealous?" Fang asks.

Maya just rolled her eyes. "No, idiot. I did it because I wanted power. And I didn't start a mob; I just joined one. Unfortunately, I don't have any more time to chat. Let 'em out boys."

Some of the thugs who had been at the warehouse come out of a van. I pull out my knife as I watch them through narrowed eyes. They walk over to another van, and open the back.

And of course, at least twenty zombies come out.

Maya stands there, smiling, as the zombies shamble towards us.I stab the one closest to Devin, and she scowls at me while cutting another's head off.

"I can handle myself." She grinds out while using a rock to hit another.

Stabbing another in the head, I say, "I know that." I spin around and kick a zombie in the chest to get it away from Nudge. "But, you're injured so I'm allowed to help you!"

We continue on like that, me helping people, and Devin being ungrateful. Finally, Fang sticks his knife through the last zombie's head. Maya, who had been watching calmly this whole time, is now gone.

"Where'd she go?" JJ asks.

"I don't know. It's like she disappeared."

A voice speaks from behind us. "I wouldn't exactly say that."

We all turn around to see a smirking Maya. But she's not alone. She's holding a gun to Angel's head.

"Now. You're all going to come with us, so we can reunite you with your friends. And then you're going to have a little stay at Hotel Maya until you get put in the cage. We're going to have so much fun!" Maya says, with a fake smile plastered on her face.

I open my mouth to snap at her, but before I can Evan tackles her. The gun goes off, but I can see Angel running towards me. I have no time to see if it hit anyone, because the thugs from the van are coming out.

This time, instead of letting zombies do their dirty work, they fight us. I put Angel behind he as I roundhouse kick a man in the head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Maya and Evan rolling around in the dirt. Each time one of them gets on top, the other spins them around.

But then Maya pulls out a knife. I hear a scream. It may have been mine, or Evan's, or anyone's. Before I can even move, Maya's stabbed Evan under her ribcage and is twisting the knife out.

I race to Evan, pulling Angel behind me. I don't have time to do what I want to Maya, because she's already getting into her car and calling her goons after her.

I kneel down next to Evan, and some of the others do the same. Before Maya closes her door though, she says one last thing. "I don't know why you're all so concerned about her. She's the one who killed that little blonde kid, after all."

I turn back to Evan. "Is that true?"

She only nods. Tears streaming down her face, she says, "I knew you guys would all eventually realize that I had nothing to offer."

"No." Angel says, so strongly we all turn to look at her. "Evan saved me. If she hadn't tackled Maya, I could have been dead. Evan's a hero, and she's going to die that way."

Evan smiles up at her. "Thank you, Angel." Then she lets out a breath, says "Geronimo!" with another smile, and is dead. Gone from this world.

"Guys," Brigid calls. I look over to see her kneeling next to Devin. And I finally figure out where that shot went.

Standing up, I walk over to her, with tears already in my eyes. I refuse to let them fall.

What the dream Ella said suddenly flashes into my head. I was supposed to protect Devin. I failed to do the one thing that Ella asked me to do.

I fall to my knees next to Devin. "Got any dying words?" I ask. Over these past few days, I had learned to respect Devin. Whatever she asked me to do, I would.

"Make sure everyone knows I went out fighting. Don't let Luka tell them that the squirrels killed me like I'm sure he wants to." She says, casting a glance over a Luka.

"Guilty." Luka says, but he has tears in his eyes.

Then she turns to JJ. "I know I wasn't even really an option, but I'm glad you're with Luka. Make sure he's happy."

"I will." JJ says.

"And I want you to have this." Devin pulls a picture out of her jacket pocket, and hands it to me. "I want you to know that it's her if you ever find her."

"Is this..." I trail off.

"Yeah," Devin begins. "It's Gracie." Then, just like Evan the air leaves her, and I close her eyes.

And then, to make this whole thing more cliche, it starts to rain.

* * *

**Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows guys!**

**What did you think? I personally liked this chapter.**

**Special thanks to-**

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**Now. I know I said, I wasn't going to do anymore LOTD. But I changed my mind. Except, now, instead of an OC you get a sneak peak of the next chapter. You can also get on if you've reviewed every. Single. Chapter. Pm me if you're not sure if you did.**

**LOTD-**

**I hear you're telling everyone you know**

**That I'm the one like you can't let me go**

**And you just keep on blowing up my phone**

**Cause you never seem to know when you should stop**

**QOTD-**

**Before the traitor was revealed, who did you think it was?**

**SO. In this chapter, Evan and Devin are dead, Maya is still a female dog, Ella is a ghost, Max is seeing dead people, Logan is on a hit list, Gazzy hotwires a car, Saph will cut you, Iggy and Luka got kidnapped, Sam wants to ask Logan out, Anna finds out who Ella is, and I don't have time for anyone else, cuz I gotta post this!**

**Well, review blah blah blah, the list, blah blah blah cookies!**

**-(A very rushed) Random :D**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, guys! So, great response for last chapter. Most of you seemed to like it, even if I was evil, killed your OC, or just made you want to curl up in a ball and cry! Haha? We're at 236 reviews right now, which is awesome. We have a special guest star this chapter- VampireRide! *applause***

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Day Eleven of the Zombie Apocalypse**

"What's the plan?" Gazzy asked, as I peered out towards the building that held one (Alright fine, two) of my friends hostage

"Get in there and save them!" JJ snapped, her words sounding bitter. I sent her a reassuring smile, even though I knew it didn't help. I can't even imagine Fang being in Luka's place. How could I handle that? I couldn't. Sighing, I let my brain go into overdrive.

"Alright, so we're facing the back entrance. Gazzy, Ig-,uh, I mean, Gazzy makes us some bombs that'll put those guards to sleep. We'll kick the doors in, weapons at the ready, and all go into Fang mode."

"Fang mode?" The dark boy himself asked.

"Well you're like a ninja, but cooler." I reasoned and he just smirked. "So anyways, we go into Fang mode, check every room we pass, and take out anybody who gets in our way. Got it?"

"Wow, Evan was right, your plans are sure to get us killed." Nudge muttered. "I mean seriously Max, what if there's an alarm! Oh that reminds me, this one time I was at JCPenny's and I was with Angel and halfway through our shopping spree this loud alarm went off and we hid in a clothes rack and-" Angel slapped her hand over Nudge's mouth.

"Not the time." She muttered.

"Max, we all shouldn't go in there." Logan reasoned. "How about Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy, Brigid, Saph, and Anna stay out here, and me, you, Fang, Lissa, Logan and JJ go in. That way if something bad happens the majority of us are still going to make it."

"Alright then, Gaz, you got those bombs ready?" I ask to which he passes me ten.

"Throw them, and as soon as they make impact they'll go off." He told me.

"Awesome. Alright, let's move out." With that, one by one we emerged from the bushes and headed towards the doors. Halfway there the guards noticed us and I tossed a bomb to JJ since she had better aim than me. She threw it fast and hard, and it landed in front of the guards as they ran towards us. We all lifted our shirts over our noses and mouths as an orange gas spiraled out.

"Alright, Fang mode, activate!" I say as we make it to the doors, only to find they're locked.

"Oh! I got this!" Lissa says, before kicking the door in with her five inch heels on.

"Whoa, I guess those things are good for something." I mumbled more to myself as we all walked in.

I take out the map we had gotten from Evan's papers. Although I wonder how Evan really got the papers, I'm not just going to walk around blindly. No, these papers are the best chance we have of finding the two boys.

If this building is anything like the warehouse we had been in, the prisoners would be kept in the lower level. So, we head to the stairs, ducking into doors when we hear voices coming down another hallway.

We finally make it down the stairs, but by now, our luck's run out. This looks nothing like the basement of the warehouse. There aren't any cells, all three hallways look exactly the same, it's just door after door, with an occasional break in between for another hallway.

"What should we do now?" Lissa asks.

"Well, they've got to be in one of these rooms, right?" JJ says. "All we have to do is find the right one."

"So we just open random doors until we find them, huh?" Lissa asks skeptically, with a roll of her eyes.

JJ shrugs. "I don't see what's so wrong with that plan." Then, before any of us can stop her, she opens the door closest to her.

As one, Fang and I step forward, pulling out our knives. But all JJ does is raise an eyebrow. "Guys. I don't think a broom's going to attack us." She says, gesturing to a broom closet.

I sheepishly put my knife away, but Fang keeps his out. "It may not be the smartest way to go at this, but I guess it couldn't hurt." Lissa says, walking over to the next door. She pulls it open, and in this one we find a long table with chairs.

I open the next one to find what looks like a snack room. There's a mini fridge, vending machine, even a microwave. I guess even evil scientists have to eat.

We go on much like this, until we come to a door unlike the others. Whereas the rest of the doors were blank, with no indication to what they held, this one has a white piece of paper with G.S. written in crayon.

I look at the others, before cautiously opening the door. With one glance inside, I can tell it's not like any of the other doors that we've opened.

What I first notice is that instead of the dull gray and white combination we've been seeing, the room's filled to the brim with pink. The cot in the corner has a pink comforter and a bright pink pillow. The desk is littered with drawings of unicorns and stick figures all done in varying shades of pink, and crayons are scattered next to them.

But in the middle of the room is the biggest difference. A little brown haired girl is sitting a (pink) plastic table, having a tea party with a stuffed bear and a barbie doll. Both look like they've seen better days.

She looks up at us when we enter, and her mouth drops open. Slowly, I pull the picture that Devin gave me out of my pocket, holding it up next to the girl. I hear Lissa gasp. All I say is, "Gracie?"

"Iggy run faster!" I heard a voice snap, looking behind me I noticed a flash of pink hair and blonde hair.

"Luka!" JJ screamed, running out of the room.

"Oh no, they're in that stage." I muttered to myself, rolling my eyes.

"JJ shut up!" I hear Luka whisper-snarl, jogging into the room with Iggy gasping for breath on his heals. "Are you trying to get someone to hear us?" Okay, maybe Luka's not in that stage. To that, JJ shoves her boyfriend into the wall.

"I'm worried sick about you and you have the nerve to talk to me like that?" She growls. Again, worst. Couple. Ever.

"Well you need to not scream!"

"Freeze!" An authoritative voice shouts.

"Everybody clap your hands!" Iggy exclaims, to which we all send him weird looks.

"What? I've always wanted to do that." He shrugs. At that, he gets shot.

"Iggy!" I shout, running over to him only to realize it wasn't a bullet, but a dart that hit him.

"Mommy tuck me in." He mumbled loopily before collapsing. Next thing I know, we've all been hit with one of those stupid darts and I'm out like a light.

…

I awoke to the feel of being kicked roughly. "Stop it, Luka!" Fang snarls as I groggily blink my nice dream away.

"It's her fault we're in this mess, she deserves to be kicked." He growls.

"What happened?" I ask, looking to Luka, who had his sneaker dug into my ribs.

"You put us on death row you Son of a female dog!" He yells, kicking me once more before pulling his knees to his chest and hanging his head low.

"Well I'm sorry I was trying to help!" I yelled right back.

"Well you know what? I'm a big boy, I can handle myself." Luka whispered in an eerily calm voice.

"I was worried about Iggy, I could care less about you." I countered, about ready to rip his ungrateful head off. For a second, something like hurt flashed through his eyes before he went back to glaring at me.

"Well I can get us out of stuff. I've already saved your butts once, I could've easily gotten us out if you hadn't ruined everything."

"Luka, that's enough." JJ intervenes.

"You're not my mom, you don't get to boss me around. And you know what Max, maybe if you would've thought that I was smarter than the average bear we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Well maybe if you didn't act like such an idiot all the time, I would've thought you were smarter than a bear and could get out!" I insist, squirming against my restraints. My wrists were chained to the wall behind my back.

"I've been setting traps since I was four! Of course I can get out of such poor equipment!"

"Well I was just trying to help." I whispered, defeated.

"Again, look where that got us. You know? Never help me again. Never even talk to me again. I'm sick of you!"

"You've already broken out of your restraints, haven't you?" I asked, noticing the slight movements that gave him away.

"Of course, but since you wanna help us get out, help us..Of course, I know you won't be able to get out of those chains without a key or my help." Luka adds, stretching his arms out casually.

Ten minutes later, I had to force my stubborn self to realize Luka was right. Sure he was being a huge female dog right now, sure JJ was probably on the verge of breaking up with him, sure I was going to break his neck when I got out of this, but we had to admit we needed him. "Alright, I... give up." I finally said, barely audible. Luka smirked.

"That's what I thought you'd say." Quickly, he undid my chains and took a step towards JJ when I tackled him, wrapping my hands around his neck.

"Listen Mr. I'm all that and twenty bags of chips, if you ever talk to me like that again, I will have your head on a platter and leave it for the zombies."

"Max! You're killing him!" Logan yelled, straining herself against the chains. Luka pried at my fingers, trying desperately to get them away from his jugular.

"Got it." He choked out, finally shoving me off. Together we got everyone else out without a problem.

After Luka got Logan out, she pulled him aside and tried to speak quietly, but I still managed to catch the conversation. "Why are you PMSing all the sudden? Luka, you're never like that."

"I... saw some stuff, kinda got to me I guess. Sorry." He muttered.

"What exactly did you see, little brother?" She asks.

"They killed Lauren." Wow, talk about ripping the bandaid off fast. "Right in front of me. I'm sorry, they would've never found you guys if I hadn't caved." Lauren. Where had I heard that name before?

Then I remember. Lauren was Logan and Luka's little sister, who Luka thought was dead.

But there's no time to dwell on that. "We need a plan." I say. The door was locked from the outside, and with us being underground, there were no windows.

"Oh, got it." Luka calls, pulling his belt off.

"Whoa boy I don't wanna see what you got-"

"Really Max?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. "Everybody give me your belts." He tells us and after a moment of odd looks, everyone who has a belt passes it to him. He ties them all together in intricate knots before punching a hole through the glass rectangle in the door. I gulped at the sight of blood covering his fist as he tossed the rope out there. I couldn't see what he was doing until he backed away from the door. "Now we wait."

Sure enough, within a few minutes we heard a startled cry and Logan peeks out the door. "I don't know how you did it Luka, but it worked." She mumbles.

"Like I said, I've been setting traps since I was four., it's the one thing I'm good at."

Luka reaches out through the hole in the door, and rifles through the guard's pocket. A triumphant grin spreads across his face as he finds what he's looking for and pulls out a ring of keys.

There's only a few keys on it, so it doesn't take long for him to find the right one. He pulls the door open, and gesturing towards it, he says, "Ladies first."

Once we're all out in the hallway, we try to get our bearings. This looks exactly like the hallway we were in, but we can't be sure. "We've got to find Gracie, guys." Lissa says. "Devin would hate us if we just left her here."

"They might have moved her, though." Fang says. "And we can't be sure that we're even in the same hallway."

I sigh. "You both are right. But, I made a promise to Devin. I told her we would find her sister, and I'm not going to lose her again."

Everyone nods their agreement, even if Fang does so a bit reluctantly. "What if we split up?" Logan offers. "That way we could check both ends of the hallway. We could agree to meet back here in five minutes whether or not we find Gracie."

"No." I immediately veto her idea. "If there's one thing I want to do less than leaving Gracie here, it's split up."

"Then what do you suggest?" Logan asks, slightly annoyed that I shot down her idea.

I'm about to say something, but Luka beats me to it. "While Iggy and I were running, we tied ripped up pieces of our t-shirts to doorknobs so we wouldn't get lost. If we could find those, we could find Gracie."

"Wouldn't they have taken them off?" Lissa asks.

"Those idiots? Please, they can't think and run at the same time." Luka answers.

"Wait, so we're just supposed to run around looking for pieces of cloth on a doorknob? That's worse than one of Max's plans." Fang says.

"Hey! I see nothing wrong with my plans." I protest.

"That's besides the point. I just don't see how we're going to get anything accomplished this way." Fang states.

Logan agrees. "No, Fang's right. We need to do something fast. But standing here debating over it isn't going to work, either."

"Max, are you sure that we can't leave her here?" Lissa begins. "I mean, she looked pretty happy. A lot more than she would be in a life on the run."

I close my eyes. "I don't care if she looked happy. You've seen what these people have done. Do you honestly think that she's going to stay happy?"

"Um, guys? There's most likely going to be a change in guard soon, so unless we want to be caught arguing in a hallway, I suggest we get going." Logan says nervously.

"We're going to get her out of here." I say with a note of finality, and start walking.

"Um, Max?" Luka begins. I turn around and raise an eyebrow. "We came from that way."

"How do you know?" Lissa asks.

"The footprints in the carpet are deeper this way. Obviously, that means that multiple people recently came down this hallway."

I blink at him. "You couldn't have told us this five minutes ago?"

He just shrugs. "You guys really have to learn how to stand on your own. I can't be solving all your problems, Max."

I walk back towards the others, and start going in the direction Luka had pointed towards.

Luka leads the way, pointing out the little things he uses to trace our footsteps. A door left slightly ajar from when we were opening doors at random. A drop of blood on the carpet. And, eventually, a strip of gray t-shirt.

From then on, we follow the t-shirts. As we pass them, JJ and Iggy take turns untying the stips form the doors.

At last, we make it to the door marked G.S. From behind me, JJ says, "Max, what are we going to do if she's not in there?"

"I'm not going to think about that until we know." I snap back, harsher than I intended. "I'm sorry." I say, before putting my hand on the doorknob, and turning the handle.

With one glance at the little girl lying on her plastic table, I knew. Crimson red dripped from the table, clashing in a dangerous way with the light pink color.

The little girl that was once sitting in this room is now barely recognizable. Once smooth hair is now mangled and knotty. Gracie's pale skin is now covered with purple bruises. A deep gash runs up the length of her arm, and in her hand is a bright red crayon.

But the words written on the wall are definitely not in crayon. It's smeared, and the blood that was used to write it is making it's way down the wall, but I can make out the words 'You should have stayed in your room' in capital letters.

I glance over at Luka, who is as pale as a ghost, and say, "Well, now the pink hair matches his complexion."

He looks like he's about to say something rude when we hear people coming from another hallway. Logan says, "I think it's time to go."

I peek my head out the door, and after making sure the coast is clear, we head out. Although we were just wandering around aimlessly when we came in, JJ knows the way back to the exit.

We burst out the door, and emerge into the afternoon sunlight. After the dim lighting in the building, the brightness is a relief.

I run to the car, throwing open the door and jumping in after the others. Iggy presses his foot on the gas, and the overcrowded car goes speeding off down the road. I turn my head around, checking for anyone following us, and am surprised to find nothing. The road is completely empty, besides the dust that Iggy's leaving behind, but even that's starting to settle.

And as soon as we turn a corner, I understand why. Maya wasn't letting us get away. She knew we'd never make it.

At least thirty zombies are closing in around the car, and fast. Iggy tries to go back, but they've already surrounded us. Iggy looks over at me. "We'll have to fight our way out." He says.

I nod. "Anna, your arm's broken. Stay in the car until we tell you, alright?"

This time, when we get out of the car, Nudge doesn't kiss the ground. Because, as soon as the doors open, zombies come swarming at us, barely giving us room to climb out. Without hesitation I throw a fast double roundhouse kick to a zombie's head, sending it flying over the crowd and landing somewhere irrelevant. Iggy and Gazzy are tossing bombs of various colors, shapes, and sizes into the crowd, and I take a moment to be very proud of my team who's fighting like the champs they are.

However, I don't have much time to ogle how well Lissa's heels can smash into a zombie's face because I have my own problems at hand. I throw as many combination punches at the head that I can, ducking, dodging, and diving to avoid the gruesome teeth that bite at us viciously.

I glance to my left to see Logan's got at least three on her, and Luka is running to her help with a baseball bat he must've found... somewhere. I don't even know anymore. When was the last time we stocked up on- my thought process was cut off by Logan's high pitched wail that sent Luka into a swinging-happy frenzy. Oh god, please don't let that be her blood. Looking away, so I don't ever have to find out if it is or not, I take out all zombies in my area.

Soon, I'm standing in the middle of a Zombie massacre, and if you didn't get the hint, it's the zombies that are the dead ones. Sighing, I wipe some blood off my arm and look around. Iggy's got a black eye, Gazzy's limping, Nudge is crying over all the heels Lissa broke, Lissa's complaining about a broken nail, and everyone else seems fine. Except for Luka and Logan. At some point he dragged her away from everything and they were now whispering back and forth, him shielding her from us. Odd. And to my horror, Fang had blood running down the side of his face. His blood.

"Fang! Are you okay?" I asked, and he just nods.

"Relax, have you forgotten I'm the zombie expert around here?" He jokes, wiping the blood away. "Besides, this isn't from a zombie, I got hit in the side of the head by like a shovel, or a bat or something." He mutters, to which I glance at the two twins far away from us.

"What do you think is up with those two?" I ask.

Fang discreetly looks at them. "Well, whatever it is, I don't like it." He murmurs. He moves to walk over to them, but I grab his arm.

"They've been through a lot, Fang. Their sister just died. Let them have a moment." I say. He looks back over at them, but eventually nods.

I want to ask Fang what we're going to do. How we're going to survive this. We've got no supplies, one car, and a group of evil scientists after us.

But I'm the leader, so I can't do that. So Fang and I just stand there in silence, until I clap my hands and tell everyone to get in the car. Nudge groans and mutters something under her breath, but files in with everyone else.

When I get in, Angel tugs on my sleeve from the seat next to me. "Max?"

"Yeah, Ange?" I ask.

"Do you think that little girl, Gracie, is in a better place? And Lauren?"

I look back at the carcasses on the road behind us, then softly say, "Yeah, I think they are." Angel nods, then rests her head on my shoulder, falling asleep, reminding me that if this girl can still have some amount of her innocence left, there must be hope left for the rest of us.

* * *

**So, I just killed two little girls... If it helps, I didn't mean for that to happen.**

**Instead of one of my super long ANs, today I have a special treat for you all- what VampireRide and I came up with while writing this! But first, the thank you's.**

**Special thanks to-**

**Twisted Pinkie (For reviewing the chapter)  
Disney'sGurl (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
IAmABookNerdAndI'mPROUDOFIT (For reviewing multiple chapeters)  
cookiesgummybearsAWESOMENESS (For reviewing the chapter)  
hiddensecret564 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
Guest reviewer- GODEATERBURST (For reviewing multiple chapters- You don't really sound desperate. Thanks though! And don't give up on the OC. In a few chapters, I'm going to be taking them again.)  
MaxPercyClaryNewtLenaKatnissKy (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
NeonEnigma88 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
MPHknows (For reviewing every chapter)  
BlazeStar4163 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
Leviosa12 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
DannyWings (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
Don'tDisTheSonic (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
boxtoplad999 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
VampireRide (For reviewing every chapter)  
MusicAnonymous (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
WingsRock72 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
Flygrrl (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
Maximumride11446 (For reviewing multiple chapters)  
maxride227 (For reviewing multiple chapters)**

**And everyone else who followed, favorited, or read!**

**LOTD-**

**My three words have two meanings,**

**There's one thing on my mind**

**It's all for you**

**QOTD-**

**What's your favorite 'L' name?**

**Our thought process of this story when bored:**

**...that was zombified! And then Arch and Ashley and a unicorn named Bob Billy came in and the world exploded into glitter, and then a Fang was made for every girl in the world. And they all died from fangirling so hard except Random and I (VampireRide), we took it like champs. So all the Fangs were left lonely and wrote bad emo poetry until they found me(VR) and MEE! Then all of them except two wrote depressing emo poetry about loving Max. And then Max came around and took the real Fang and had a gazillion baby Fangs and Maxes with him. Then all the Fang's sang depressing emo songs and whined to each other about how they weren't emo and people needed to stop calling them that. Then they did emo things that contradicted themselves. But their haircuts are so sexy nobody cared as long as they didn't jump off a cliff.**

**Luka's Family tree:**

**Grandparents:**

**Leon Lux**

**Lacey Lux**

**People grandparents had affairs with:**

**Lorenzo Leopard**

**Lena Lone**

**Parents:**

**Lenny Lux**

**Laney Lux**

**People parents had affairs with:**

**Lily Lemmer**

**Leroy Lacker**

**Uncle and Aunt:**

**Landon Lockford**

**Laney Lockford**

**Siblings:**

**Logan Lux**

**Lauren Lux**

**Louis Lux (Long lost brother)**

**Cousins:**

**Leo Lockford**

**Lexi Lockford**

**Pets: (Dogs)**

**Lion**

**Llama**

**Logan's boyfriend: (Notice it's not Ex boyfriend even though Logan knows he had an affair ****_(with her MOM)_****)**

**Leroy Lacker**

_**(VR's in regular font; I'm in italics)**_

**My character was young and in love, leave her alone! ****_Well, Leroy needs to die!_**** He's in the story? YAY! ****_I'm bringing him in just so I can kill him._**** Well he's still in it so yeah haha. What if you brought the whole family in?****_ What if they all survived by living in a secret colony of people with L names?_**** That'd be so hilarious. And then like... they try to kill everyone who's name doesn't start with L. ****_But only with weapons that start with L._**** LIGHTERS! Burn them all! ****_Or landmines! Blow 'em up!_**** Or um.. Leopards! That's right, they sick Leopards on people! LASERS! They have laser guns! ****_Oh, my sprinkles, YES! I'm going to change my name to something that starts with L just so I can join these people._**** My new name is Lemon Meringue Pie the third. ****_Do you think they'd let you in? Your last name doesn't start with L..._**** Lemon Meringue Pie Laquisha the third.****_ My name shall be... Lemon Meringue Pie Laquisha the second!_**** Gasp! Are you my long lost sister? ****_I must be!_**** Yes! Now let's go find that L colony! ****_Onward!_**** And Upward! ****_*Gets on leopard* I'm off!_**** *Gets on Lion* I'm off too! **

**SO. In this chapter, Maya has turned in Dr. Doof, Logan's going to have to ditch the group to find the L colony, Luka's Mr. All that and twenty bags of chips, Sam hasn't professed his love for Logan yet, Gazzy's making bombs, Angel's still innocent, Nudge is hiding in a clothes rack, Anna sits this one out, we still haven't found out if Lissa and Brigid are doing anything nefarious, Max doesn't want to see Luka's junk, Fang went into Fang mode, Gracie's dead after guest starring in one chapter, Iggy wants his mommy to tuck him in, Saph... where is she?, and VampireRide and I are officially of our hinges.**

**Remember to review! Reviews are... bowls of chocolate chip cookie dough!**

**-Random :D**


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